THE  ROM. 

OF  MODERN 
INVENTION 


■MPiiP"! 


The    Romance    of  Modern 
Invention 


THE  ROMANCE  OF 
MODERN  INVENTION 

CONTAINING  INTERESTING  DESCRIPTIONS  IN 
NON-TECHNICAL  LANGUAGE  OF  WIRELESS 
TELEGRAPHY,  LIQUID  AIR,  MODERN  ARTIL- 
LERY, SUBMARINES,  DIRIGIBLE  TORPEDOES, 
SOLAR  MOTORS,  AIRSHIPS,  <&-r.  dx^c. 


BY 

ARCHIBALD  WILLIAMS,  B.A.,  F.R.G.S,^/y 

AUTHOR  OF  "the  romance  OF  MODERN  MECHANISM" 
"the  ROMANCE  OF  MODERN  ENGINEERING" 


WITH  TWENTY-FIVE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.  B.   LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY 

LONDON :  SEELEY  &  CO.  Limited 
1910 


BOSTON  COLLEQE  LIBRAiilT 
■    CMEBTNUT  HIl^L,  MxAm. 


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Preface 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  set  before  young  people 
in  a  bright  and  interesting  way,  and  without  the  use 
of  technical  language,  accounts  of  some  of  the  latest 
phases  of  modern  invention  ;  and  also  to  introduce 
them  to  recent  discoveries  of  which  the  full  develop- 
ment is  yet  to  be  witnessed. 

The  author  gratefully  acknowledges  the  help  given 
him  as  regards  both  literary  matter  and  illustrations 
by : — Mr.  Cuthbert  Hall  (the  Marconi  Wireless  Tele- 
graphy Co.)  ;  Mr.  William  Sugg  ;  Mr.  Hans  Knudsen  ; 
Mr.  F.  C.  B.  Cole  ;  Mr.  E.  J.  Ryves  ;  Mr.  Anton 
Pollak  ;  the  Telautograph  Co.  ;  the  Parsons  Steam 
Turbine  Co. ;  the  Monotype  Co. ;  the  Biograph  Co. ; 
the  Locomobile  Co.  ;  the  Speedwell  Motor  Co. 

September  1902. 


Contents 


PAGB 


Wireless  Telegraphy        .        .        .        ...  7 

High-Speed  Telegraphy    ......  28 

The  Telephone — Wireless  Telephony  ...  39 
The    Phonograph — The      hotographophone — The 

Telephonograph 54 

The  Telautograph 72 

Modern    Artillery  —  Rifles  —  Machine    Guns  — 

Heavy   Ordnance — Explosives — In    the    Gun 

Factory  •«.»....  83 
Dirigible  Torpedoes         ,        .        •        •        •        .126 

Submarine  Boats        .,.,,•.  143 

Animated  Pictures  .  .  .  ,  •  .  ,  166 
The  Great  Paris  Telescope  .  .  ,  .183 
Photographing    the    Invisible  —  Photography   in 

the  Dark 194 

Solar  Motors    ...•..,.  207 

Liquid  Air 213 

Horseless  Carriages        • 224 

High-Speed  Railways        •••...  258 

Sea  Expresses 272 

Mechanical  Flight   .......  284 

Type-Setting  by  Machinery     .....  306 

Photography  in  Colours  ,        .        .        ,        •3^7 

Lighting    , »        -        ,  330 

3 


List    of   Illustrations 

The    Sun    Motor    Used    on    the    Pasadena 

Ostrich-Farm Frontispiece 

A  Corner  of  Mr.  Mahconi's  Cabin   .        .  To  face  page    lo 

Mr.  Marconi's  Travelling  Station  ,       •      „  „       i6 

The  Poldhu  Tower       ....•„  »      22 

GuGLiELMO  Marconi „  ,,26 

High-Speed    Telegraphy  :    a    Receiving 

Instrument „         w      28 

High-Speed    Telegraphy.      Specimen    of 

Punched  Tape „  »»      34 

A  Unique  Group  of  Phonographs     .       .      „  »,      56 

The  Telautograph  :  Receiver  and  Trans- 
mitter         •      >}  »i      72 

The  Telautograph,  Showing  the  Princi- 
pal Parts „  »      75 

The    Telautograph,     Specimen    of    the 

Work  Done       ....,.„  »      76 

The  SIMMS  Armour-Clad  Motor  Car        ,      „  ,,114 

The  "Holland"  Submarine  Boat      .       .      „  „     144 

An  Interior  View  of  the  "Holland"      .      „  „     150 

The  "Holland"  Submarine  in  the  Last 

Stages  of  Submersion    .       •       .       .      „  „     160 

The  Great  Paris  Telescope        .       .       •      „  »     1S8 

The   Liquid  Air    Company's   Factory  at 

Pimlico       •       • „         „     214 

5 


List   of  Illustrations 

M.  Serpollet  on  the  "Easter  Egg"  To  face  page  224 

A  Motor  Car  Driven  by  Liquid  Air        .      „  „     242 

Diagram  of  Liquid  Air  Motor  Car  .       .      „  „     246 

H.M.S.  Torpedo  Destroyer  "Viper"  ,  „  „  278 
Airship  of  M.  Santos-Dumont  Rounding 

the  Eiffel  Tower „  „     288 

M.   Santos-Dumont's   Airship  Returning 

to  Longchamps „  „     300 

The  Linotype  Machine „  ,?     308 

The  Monotype  Casting  Machine       ,       .      „  ,,312 


The    Romance    of  Modern 
Invention 

WIRELESS   TELEGRAPHY 

One  day  in  1845  a  man  named  Tawell,  dressed  as  a 
Quaker^  stepped  into  a  train  at  Slough  Station  on  the 
Great  Western  Railway,  and  travelled  to  London. 
When  he  arrived  in  London  the  innocent-looking 
Quaker  was  arrested,  much  to  his  amazement  and 
dismay,  on  the  charge  of  having  committed  a  foul 
murder  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Slough.  The  news 
of  the  murder  and  a  description  of  the  murderer  had 
been  telegraphed  from  that  place  to  Paddington, 
where  a  detective  met  the  train  and  shadowed  the 
miscreant  until  a  convenient  opportunity  for  arresting 
him  occurred.  Tawell  was  tried,  condemned,  and 
hung,  and  the  pubHc  for  the  first  time  generally 
realised  the  power  for  good  dormant  in  the  as  yet 
little  developed  electric  telegraph. 

Thirteen  years  later  two  vessels  met  in  mid-Atlantic 
laden  with  cables  which  they  joined  and  paid  out  in 
opposite  directions,  till  Ireland  and  Newfoundland 
were  reached.    The  first  electric  message  passed  on 

7 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

August  7th  of  that  year  from  the  New  World  to  the 
Old.  The  telegraph  had  now  become  a  world- 
power. 

The  third  epoch-making  event  in  its  history  is  of 
recent  date.  On  December  12,  190I;  Guglielmo 
Marconi,  a  young  Italian,  famous  all  over  the  world 
when  but  twenty-two  years  old,  suddenly  sprang  into 
yet  greater  fame.  At  Hospital  Point,  Newfoundland, 
he  heard  by  means  of  a  kite,  a  long  wire,  a  delicate 
tube  full  of  tiny  particles  of  metal,  and  a  telephone 
ear-piece,  signals  transmitted  from  far-off  Cornwall 
by  his  colleagues.  No  wires  connected  Poldhu,  the 
Cornish  station,  and  Hospital  Point.  The  three  short 
dot  signals,  which  in  the  Morse  code  signify  the  letter 
S,  had  been  borne  from  place  to  place  by  the  limitless, 
mysterious  ether,  that  strange  substance  of  which  we 
now  hear  so  much,  of  which  wise  men  declare  we 
know  so  little.  ^ 

Marconi's  great  achievement,  which  was  of  im- 
mense importance,  naturally  astonished  the  world. 
Of  course,  there  were  not  wanting  those  who  dis- 
credited the  report.  Others,  on  the  contrary,  were 
seized  with  panic  and  showed  their  readiness  to 
believe  that  the  Atlantic  had  been  spanned  aerially, 
by  selling  off  their  shares  in  cable  companies.  To 
use  the  language  of  the  money-market,  there  was  a 
temporary  '^  slump "  in  cable  shares.  The  world 
again  woke  up — this  time  to  the  fact  that  experiments 
of  which  it  had  heard  faintly  had  at  last  culminated  in 
a  great  triumph,  marvellous  in  itself,  and  yet  probably 

8 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

nothing  in  comparison  with  the  revokition  in  the 
transmission  of  news  that  it  heralded. 

The  subject  of  Wireless  Telegraphy  is  so  wide 
that  to  treat  it  fully  in  the  compass  of  a  single 
chapter  is  impossible.  At  the  same  time  it  would  be 
equally  impossible  to  pass  it  over  in  a  book  written 
with  the  object  of  presenting  to  the  reader  the  latest 
developments  of  scientific  research.  Indeed,  the 
attention  that  it  has  justly  attracted  entitle  it,  not 
merely  to  a  place,  but  to  a  leading  place ;  and  for 
this  reason  these  first  pages  will  be  devoted  to  a 
short  account  of  the  history  and  theory  of  Wireless 
Telegraphy,  with  some  mention  of  the  different  systems 
by  which  signals  have  been  sent  through  space. 

On  casting  about  for  a  point  at  which  to  begin, 
the  writer  is  tempted  to  attack  the  great  topic  of  the 
ether,  to  which  experimenters  in  many  branches  of 
science  are  now  devoting  more  and  more  attention, 
hoping  to  find  in  it  an  explanation  of  and  connection 
between  many  phenomena  which  at  present  are  of 
uncertain  origin. 

What  is  Ether  ?  In  the  first  place,  its  very  exist- 
ence is  merely  assumed,  like  that  of  the  atom  and 
the  molecule.  Nobody  can  say  that  he  has  actually 
seen  or  had  any  experience  of  it.  The  assumption 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  is  justified  only  in  so  far 
as  that  assumption  explains  and  reconciles  pheno- 
mena of  which  we  have  experience,  and  enables  us  to 
form  theories  which  can  be  scientifically  demonstrated 
correct.    What  scientists  now  say  is  this  :  that  every- 

9 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

thing  which  we  see  and  touch,  the  air,  the  infinity 
of  space  itself,  is  permeated  by  a  something^  so  subtle 
that;  no  matter  how  continuous  a  thing  may  seem, 
it  is  but  a  concourse  of  atoms  separated  by  this 
something,  the  Ether.  Reasoning  drove  them  to  this 
conclusion. 

It  is  obvious  that  an  effect  cannot  come  out  of 
nothing.  Put  a  clock  under  a  bell-glass  and  you 
hear  the  ticking.  Pump  out  the  air  and  the  ticking 
becomes  inaudible.  What  is  now  not  in  the  glass 
that  was  there  before  ?  The  air.  Reason,  therefore, 
obliges  us  to  conclude  that  air  is  the  means  whereby 
the  ticking  is  audible  to  us.  No  air,  no  sound. 
Next,  put  a  lighted  candle  on  the  further  side  of 
the  exhausted  bell-glass.  We  can  see  it  clearly 
enough.  The  absence  of  air  does  not  affect  light. 
But  can  we  believe  that  there  is  an  absolute  gap 
between  us  and  the  Hght  ?  No  !  It  is  far  easier  to 
believe  that  the  bell-glass  is  as  full  as  the  outside 
atmosphere  of  the  something  that  communicates  the 
sensation  of  light  from  the  candle  to  the  eye.  Again, 
suppose  we  measure  a  bar  of  iron  very  carefully 
while  cold  and  then  heat  it.  We  shall  find  that  it 
has  expanded  a  little.  The  iron  atoms,  we  say,  have 
become  more  energetic  than  before,  repel  each  other 
and  stand  further  apart.  What  then  is  in  the  inter- 
vening spaces  ?  Not  air,  which  cannot  be  forced 
through  iron  whether  hot  or  cold.  No  !  the  ether : 
which  passes  easily  through  crevices  so  small  as  to 
bar  the  way  to  the  atoms  of  air. 

10 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

Once  more,  suppose  that  to  one  end  of  our  iron 
bar  we  apply  the  negative  ^^pole"  of  an  electric 
battery,  and  to  the  other  end  the  positive  pole.  We 
see  that  a  current  passes  through  the  bar,  whether 
hot  or  cold,  which  implies  that  it  jumps  across  all 
the  ether  gaps,  or  rather  is  conveyed  by  thsm  from 
one  atom  to  another. 

The  conclusion  then  is  that  ether  is  not  merely 
omnipresent,  penetrating  all  things,  but  the  medium 
whereby  heat,  light,  electricity,  perhaps  even  thought 
itself,  are  transmitted  from  one  point  to  another. 

In  what  manner  is  the  transmission  effected  ?  We 
cannot  imagine  the  ether  behaving  in  a  way  void  of 
all  system. 

The  answer  is,  by  a  wave  motion.  The  ether 
must  be  regarded  as  a  very  elastic  solid.  The  agita- 
tion of  a  portion  of  it  by  what  we  call  heat,  light,  or 
electricity,  sets  in  motion  adjoining  particles,  until 
they  are  moving  from  side  to  side,  but  not  forwards ; 
the  resultant  movement  resembling  that  of  a  snake 
tethered  by  the  tail. 

These  ether  waves  vary  immensely  in  length. 
Their  qualities  and  effects  upon  our  bodies  or  sen- 
sitive instruments  depend  upon  their  length.  By 
means  of  ingenious  apparatus  the  lengths  of  various 
waves  have  been  measured.  When  the  waves  number 
500  billion  per  second,  and  are  but  the  40,000th  of 
an  inch  long  they  affect  our  eyes  and  are  named 
light — red  light.  At  double  the  number  and  half  the 
length,  they  give  us  the  sensation  of  violet  light, 

II 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

When  the  number  increases  and  the  waves  shorten 
further,  our  bodies  are  ^'  blind "  to  them ;  we  have 
no  sense  to  detect  their  presence.  Similarly,  a  slower 
vibration  than  that  of  red  light  is  imperceptible  until 
we  reach  the  comparatively  slow  pace  of  loo  vibra- 
tions per  second,  when  we  become  aware  of  heat. 

Ether  waves  may  be  compared  to  the  notes  on  a 
piano,  of  which  we  are  acquainted  with  some  octaves 
only.  The  gaps,  the  unknown  octaves,  are  being  dis- 
covered slowly  but  surely.  Thus,  for  example,  the 
famous  X-rays  have  been  assigned  to  the  topmost 
octave ;  electric  waves  to  the  notes  between  light  and 
heat.  Forty  years  ago  Professor  Clerk  Maxwell  sug- 
gested that  light  and  electricity  were  very  closely  con- 
nected, probably  differing  only  in  their  wave-length. 
His  theory  has  been  justified  by  subsequent  research. 
The  velocity  of  light  (185,000  miles  per  second)  and 
that  of  electric  currents  have  been  proved  identical. 
Hertz,  a  professor  in  the  university  of  Bonn,  also 
showed  (1887-1889)  that  the  phenomena  of  light — 
reflection,  refraction,  and  concentration  of  rays — can 
be  repeated  with  electric  currents. 

We  therefore  take  the  word  of  scientists  that  the 
origin  of  the  phenomena  called  light  and  electricity 
is  the  same — vibration  of  ether.  It  at  once  occurs  to 
the  reader  that  their  behaviour  is  so  different  that 
they  might  as  well  be  considered  of  altogether  dif- 
ferent natures. 

For  instance,  interpose  the  very  thinnest  sheet  of 
metal  between  a  candle  and  the  eye,  and  the  light  is 

12 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

cut  off.  But  the  sheet  will  very  readily  convey  elec- 
tricity. On  the  contrary,  glass,  a  substance  that 
repels  electricity,  is  transparent,  i,e,  gives  passage  to 
light.  And  again,  electricity  can  be  conveyed  round 
as  many  corners  as  you  please,  v^^hereas  light  will 
travel  in  straight  lines  only. 

To  clear  away  our  doubts  we  have  only  to  take  the 
lighted  candle  and  again  hold  up  the  metal  screen. 
Light  does  not  pass  through,  but  heat  does.  Sub- 
stitute for  the  metal  a  very  thin  tank  filled  with  a 
solution  of  alum,  and  then  light  passes,  but  heat  is 
cut  off.  So  that  heat  and  electricity  both  penetrate 
what  is  impenetrable  to  light;  while  light  forces  a 
passage  securely  barred  against  both  electricity  and 
heat.  And  we  must  remember  that  open  space  con- 
veys all  alike  from  the  sun  to  the  earth. 

On  meeting  what  we  call  solid  matter,  ether  waves 
are  influenced,  not  because  ether  is  wanting  in  the 
solid  matter,  but  because  the  presence  of  something 
else  than  ether  affects  the  intervening  ether  itself. 
Consequently  glass,  to  take  an  instance,  so  affects 
ether  that  a  very  rapid  succession  of  waves  (light) 
are  able  to  continue  their  way  through  its  interstices, 
whereas  long  electric  waves  are  so  hampered  that  they 
die  out  altogether.  Metal  on  the  other  hand  wel- 
comes slow  vibrations  (i.e,  long  waves),  but  speedily 
kills  the  rapid  shakes  of  light.  In  other  words,  trans- 
parency is  not  confined  to  light  alone.  All  bodies  are 
transparent  to  some  variety  of  rays,  and  many  bodies 
to  several  varieties.     It  may  perhaps  even  be  proved 

13 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  absolute  resistance,  and 
that  our  inabiUty  to  detect  penetration  is  due  to  lack 
of  sufficiently  delicate  instruments. 

The  cardinal  points  to  be  remembered  are  these  : — 

That  the  ether  is  a  universal  medium,  conveying  all 
kinds  and  forms  of  energy. 

That  these  forms  of  energy  differ  only  in  their  rates 
of  vibration. 

That  the  rate  of  vibration  determines  what  power  of 
penetration  the  waves  shall  have  through  any  given 
substance. 

Now,  it  is  generally  true  that  whereas  matter  of 
any  kind  offers  resistance  to  light — that  is,  is  not  so 
perfect  a  conductor  as  the  ether — many  substances, 
especially  metals,  are  more  sensitive  than  ether  to 
heat  and  electricity.  How  quickly  a  spoon  inserted 
into  a  hot  cup  of  tea  becomes  uncomfortably  hot, 
though  the  hand  can  be  held  very  close  to  the  liquid 
without  feeling  more  than  a  gentle  warmth.  And  we 
all  have  noticed  that  the  very  least  air-gap  in  an 
electric  circuit  effectively  breaks  a  current  capable  of 
traversing  miles  of  wire.  If  the  current  is  so  intense 
that  it  insists  on  passing  the  gap,  it  leaps  across  with  a 
report,  making  a  spark  that  is  at  once  intensely  bright 
and  hot.  Metal  wires  are  to  electricity  what  speaking 
tubes  are  to  sound  ;  they  are  as  it  were  electrical 
tubes  through  the  air  and  ether.  But  just  as  a  person 
listening  outside  a  speaking  tube  might  faintly  hear 
the  sounds  passing  through  it,  so  an  instrument  gifted 
with  an  *^  electric  ear  "  would  detect  the  currents  pass- 

14 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

ing  through  the  wire.  Wireless  telegraphy  is  possible 
because  mankind  has  discovered  instruments  which 
act  as  electric  ears  or  eyes,  catching  and  recording 
vibrations  that  had  hitherto  remained  undetected. 

The  earliest  known  form  of  wireless  telegraphy 
is  transmission  of  messages  by  light.  A  man  on  a  hill 
lights  a  lamp  or  a  fire.  This  represents  his  instru- 
ment for  agitating  the  ether  into  waves,  which  proceed 
straight  ahead  with  incredible  velocity  until  they 
reach  the  receiver,  the  eye  of  a  man  watching  at  a 
point  from  which  the  light  is  visible. 

Then  came  electric  telegraphy. 

At  first  a  complete  circuit  (two  wires)  was  used. 
But  in  1838  it  was  discovered  that  if  instead  of  two 
wires  only  one  was  used,  the  other  being  replaced  by 
an  earth  connection,  not  only  was  the  effect  equally 
powerful,  but  even  double  of  what  it  was  with  the 
metallic  circuit. 

Thus  the  first  step  had  been  taken  towards  wireless 
electrical  telegraphy. 

The  second  was,  of  course,  to  abolish  the  other  wire. 

This  was  first  effected  by  Professor  Morse,  who,  in 
1842,  sent  signals  across  the  Susquehanna  River  with- 
out metallic  connections  of  any  sort.  Along  each 
bank  of  the  river  was  stretched  a  wire  three  times 
as  long  as  the  river  was  broad.  In  the  one  wire  a 
battery  and  transmitter  were  inserted,  in  the  other  a 
receiving  instrument  or  galvanometer.  Each  wire 
terminated  at  each  end  in  a  large  copper  plate  sunk 
in  the  water.     Morse's  conclusions  were  that  provided 

15 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  wires  were  long  enough  and  the  plates  large 
enough  messages  could  be  transmitted  for  an  in- 
definite distance  ;  the  current  passing  from  plate  to 
plate,  though  a  large  portion  of  it  would  be  lost  in 
the  water .1 

About  the  same  date  a  Scotchman,  James  Bowman 
Lindsay  of  Dundee,  a  man  as  rich  in  intellectual 
attainments  as  he  was  pecuniarily  poor,  sent  signals 
in  a  similar  manner  across  the  River  Tay.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1859,  Lindsay  read  a  paper  before  the  British 
Association  at  Dundee,  in  which  he  maintained  that 
his  experiments  and  calculations  assured  him  that  by 
running  wires  along  the  coasts  of  America  and  Great 
Britain,  by  using  a  battery  having  an  acting  surface  of 
130  square  feet  and  immersed  sheets  of  3000  square 
feet,  and  a  coil  weighing  300  lbs.,  he  could  send 
messages  from  Britain  to  America.  Want  of  money 
prevented  the  poor  scholar  of  Dundee  from  carrying 
out  his  experiments  on  a  large  enough  scale  to  obtain 
public  support.  He  died  in  1862,  leaving  behind  him 
the  reputation  of  a  man  who  in  the  face  of  the  greatest 
difficulties  made  extraordinary  electrical  discoveries  at 
the  cost  of  unceasing  labour ;  and  this  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  he  had  undertaken  and  partly  executed  a 
gigantic  dictionary  in  fifty  different  languages  1 

1  It  is  here  proper  to  observe  that  the  term  wireless  telegraphy,  as  applied 
to  electrical  systems,  is  misleading,  since  it  implies  the  absence  of  wires ; 
whereas  in  all  systems  wires  are  used.  But  since  it  is  generally  understood 
that  by  wireless  telegraphy  is  meant  telegraphy  without  metal  connections^ 
and  because  the  more  improved  methods  lessen  more  and  more  the  amount 
of  wire  used,  the  phrase  has  been  allowed  to  stand. 

16 


r\.  ""\ 


rf-> 


M.  Marconi's  Travelling  Station  for  Wireless  Telegraphy. 

[To  face  p.  i6. 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

The  transmission  of  electrical  signals  through 
matter,  metal,  earth,  or  water,  is  effected  by  cofi" 
ductiofiy  or  the  leading  of  the  currents  in  a  circuit. 
When  we  come  to  deal  with  aerial  transmission,  i,e, 
where  one  or  both  wires  are  replaced  by  the  ether, 
then  two  methods  are  possible,  those  of  induction 
and  Hertzian  waves. 

To  take  the  induction  method  first.  Whenever  a 
current  is  sent  through  a  wire  magnetism  is  set  up  in 
the  ether  surrounding  the  wire,  which  becomes  the 
core  of  a  "magnetic  field."  The  magnetic  waves 
extend  for  an  indefinite  distance  on  all  sides,  and  on 
meeting  a  wire  parallel  to  the  electrified  wire  induce 
in  it  a  dynamical  current  similar  to  that  which 
caused  them.  Wherever  electricity  is  present  there 
is  magnetism  also,  and  vice  versd.  Electricity — pro- 
duces magnetism — produces  electricity.  The  inven- 
tion of  the  Bell  telephone  enabled  telegraphers  to 
take  advantage  of  this  law. 

In  1885  Sir  William  Preece,  now  consulting  elec- 
trical engineer  to  the  General  Post-Office,  erected  near 
Newcastle  two  insulated  squares  of  wire,  each  side 
.  440  yards  long.  The  squares  were  horizontal,  parallel, 
and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart.  On  currents  being  sent 
through  the  one,  currents  were  detected  in  the  other 
by  means  of  a  telephone,  which  remained  active  even 
when  the  squares  were  separated  by  1000  yards.  Sir 
William  Preece  thus  demonstrated  that  signals  could 
be  sent  without  even  an  earth  connection,  i.e.  entirely 
through  the  ether.     In  1886  he  sent  signals  between 

17  B 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

two  parallel  telegraph  wires  4^  miles  apart.  And  in  1892 
established  a  regular  communication  between  Flatholm, 
an  island  fort  in  the  Bristol  Channel,  and  Lavernock, 
a  point  on  the  Welsh  coast  3J  miles  distant. 

The  inductive  method  might  have  attained  to 
greater  successes  had  not  a  formidable  rival  appeared 
in  the  Hertzian  waves. 

In  1887  Professor  Hertz  discovered  that  if  the 
discharge  from  a  Leyden  jar  were  passed  through 
wires  containing  an  air-gap  across  which  the  dis- 
charge had  to  pass,  sparks  would  also  pass  across 
a  gap  in  an  almost  complete  circle  or  square  of  wire 
held  at  some  distance  from  the  jar.  This  "electric 
eye,"  or  detector,  could  have  its  gap  so  regulated  by 
means  of  a  screw  that  at  a  certain  width  its  effect 
would  be  most  pronounced,  under  which  condition 
the  detector,  or  receiver,  was  "in  tune"  with  the 
exciter,  or  transmitter.  Hertz  thus  established  three 
great  facts,  that — 

(a)  A  discharge  of  static  (z,e.  collected)  electricity 
across  an  air-gap  produced  strong  electric 
waves  in  the  ether  on  all  sides. 

(d)  That  these  waves  could  be  caught. 

(c)  That  under  certain  conditions  the  catcher 
worked  most  effectively. 

Out  of  these  three  discoveries  has  sprung  the  latest 
phase  of  wireless  telegraphy,  as  exploited  by  Signor 
Marconi.  He,  in  common  with  Professors  Branly  of 
Paris,  Popoff  of  Cronstadt,  and  Slaby  of  Charlotten- 
burg,  besides  many  others,  have  devoted  their  attention 

18 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

to  the  production  of  improved  means  of  sending  and 
receiving  the  Hertzian  waves.  Their  experiments 
have  shown  that  two  things  are  required  in  wireless 
telegraphy — 

(i.)  That  the  waves  shall  have  great  penetrating 
power,  so  as  to  pierce  any  obstacle. 

(ii,)  That  they  shall  retain  their  energy,  so  that  a 
maximum  of  their  original  force  shall  reach 
the  receiver. 

The  first  condition  is  fulfilled  best  by  waves  of 
great  length  ;  the  second  by  those  which,  like  light, 
are  of  greatest  frequency.  For  best  telegraphic  results 
a  compromise  must  be  effected  between  these  ex- 
tremes, neither  the  thousand-mile  long  waves  of 
an  alternating  dynamo  nor  the  light  waves  of  many 
thousands  to  an  inch  being  of  use.  The  Hertzian 
waves  are  estimated  to  be  230,000,000  per  second ;  at 
which  rate  they  would  be  i^  yards  long.  They 
vary  considerably,  however,  on  both  sides  of  this 
rate  and  dimension. 

Marconi's  transmitter  consists  of  three  parts — a 
battery  ;  an  induction  coil,  terminating  in  a  pair  of 
brass  balls,  one  on  each  side  of  the  air-gap ;  and  a 
Morse  transmitting-key.  Upon  the  key  being  de- 
pressed, a  current  from  the  battery  passes  through 
the  coil  and  accumulates  electricity  on  the  brass 
balls  until  its  tension  causes  it  to  leap  from  one  to 
the  other  many  millions  of  times  in  what  is  called 
a  spark.  The  longer  the  air-gap  the  greater  must 
be  the    accumulation   before   the  leap    takes    place, 

19 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

and  the  greater  the  power  of  the  vibrations  set  up, 
Marconi  found  that  by  connecting  a  kite  or  balloon 
covered  with  tinfoil  by  an  aluminium  wire  with  one 
of  the  balls,  the  effect  of  the  waves  was  greatly  in- 
creased. Sometimes  he  replaced  the  kite  or  balloon 
by  a  conductor  placed  on  poles  two  or  three  hundred 
feet  high,  or  by  the  mast  of  a  ship. 

We  now  turn  to  the  receiver. 

In  1879  Professor  D.  E.  Hughes  observed  that  a 
microphone,  in  connection  with  a  telephone,  pro- 
duced sounds  in  the  latter  even  when  the  microphone 
was  at  a  distance  of  several  feet  from  coils  through 
which  a  current  was  passing.  A  microphone,  it  may 
be  explained,  is  in  its  simplest  form  a  loose  con- 
nection in  an  electric  circuit,  which  causes  the  cur- 
rent to  flow  in  fits  and  starts  at  very  frequent  intervals. 
He  discovered  that  a  metal  microphone  stuck,  or 
cohered,  after  a  wave  had  influenced  it,  but  that  a 
carbon  microphone  was  self-restoring,  ue,  regained  its 
former  position  of  loose  contact  as  soon  as  a  wave 
effect  had  ceased. 

In  1 891  Professor  Branly  of  Paris  produced  a 
**  coherer,"  which  was  nothing  more  than  a  micro- 
phone under  another  name.  Five  years  later  Marconi 
somewhat  altered  Branly's  contrivance,  and  took  out 
a  patent  for  a  coherer  of  his  own. 

It  is  a  tiny  glass  tube,  about  two  inches  long  and 
a  tenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  inside.  A  wire  enters 
it  at  each  end,  the  wires  terminating  in  two  silver 
plugs  fitting  the  bore  of  the  tube.    A  space  of  -^  inch 

20 


Wireless  Telegraphy- 
is  left  between  the  plugs,  and  this  space  is  filled  with 
special  filings,  a  mixture  of  96  parts  of  nickel  to  4  of 
silver,  and  the  merest  trace  of  mercury.    The  tube  is 
exhausted  of  almost  all  its  air  before  being  sealed. 

This  little  gap  filled  with  filings  is,  except  when 
struck  by  an  electric  wave,  to  all  practical  purposes 
a  non-conductor  of  electricity.  The  metal  particles 
touch  each  other  so  lightly  that  they  offer  great 
resistance  to  a  current. 

But  when  a  Hertzian  wave  flying  through  the  ether 
strikes  the  coherer,  the  particles  suddenly  press  hard 
on  one  another,  and  make  a  bridge  through  which 
a  current  can  pass.  The  current  works  a  ^' relay," 
or  circuit  through  which  a  stronger  current  passes, 
opening  and  closing  it  as  often  as  the  coherer  is 
influenced  by  a  wave.  The  relay  actuates  a  tapper  that 
gently  taps  the  tube  after  each  wave-influence,  causing 
the  particles  to  ^^cohere  in  readiness  for  the  succeed- 
ing wave,  and  also  a  Morse  instrument  for  recording 
words  in  dots  and  dashes  on  a  long  paper  tape. 

The  coherer  may  be  said  to  resemble  an  engine- 
driver,  and  the  *^ relay"  an  engine.  The  driver  is 
not  sufficiently  strong  to  himself  move  a  train,  but 
he  has  strength  enough  to  turn  on  steam  and  make 
the  engine  do  the  work.  The  coherer  is  not  suitable 
for  use  with  currents  of  the  intensity  required  to 
move  a  Morse  recorder,  but  it  easily  switches  a 
powerful  current  into  another  circuit. 

Want  of  space  forbids  a  detailed  account  of  Mar- 
coni's successes  with  his  improved  instruments,  but 

21 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  appended  list  will  serve  to  show  how  he  gradually 
increased  the  distance  over  which  he  sent  signals 
through  space. 

In  1896  he  came  to  England.  That  year  he  sig- 
nalled from  a  room  in  the  General  Post-Office  to  a 
station  on  the  roof  100  yards  distant.  Shortly  after- 
wards he  covered  2  miles  on  Salisbury  Plain. 

In  May,  1897,  he  sent  signals  from  Lavernock 
Point  to  Flatholm,  3J  miles.  This  success  occurred 
at  a  critical  time,  for  Sir  W.  Preece  had  already,  as 
we  have  seen,  bridged  the  same  gap  by  his  induction 
method,  and  for  three  days  Marconi  failed  to  accom- 
plish the  feat  with  his  apparatus,  so  that  it  appeared 
as  though  the  newer  system  were  the  less  effective 
of  the  two.  But  by  carrying  the  transmitting  instru- 
ment on  to  the  beach  below  the  cliff  on  which  it 
had  been  standing,  and  joining  it  by  a  wire  to  the 
pole  already  erected  on  the  top  of  the  cliff,  Mr, 
Marconi,  thanks  to  a  happy  inspiration,  did  just 
what  was  needed ;  he  got  a  greater  length  of  wire 
to  send  off  his  waves  from.  Communication  was  at 
once  established  with  Flatholm,  and  on  the  next  day 
with  Brean  Down,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Bristol 
Channel,  and  8f  miles  distant.     Then  we  have — 


Needles  Hotel  to  Swanage    . 

i7i 

miles. 

Salisbury  to  Bath  .        .        •        . 

34 

French  Coast  to  Harwich 

90 

Isle  of  Wight  to  The  Lizard  . 

196 

At  Sea  (1901)          .... 

350 

Dec.  17, 1901,  England  to  America 

2099 

22 

•J    r;    \> 


•^^    V. 


■^'?^.''~ 

r^  r:  -^  ? 
f^  ^  C3  Si 

"^    <;i    :^ 

St- 


<3 


<5i  "^  "^  "tr 


■r~  '~/J 


O) 


Q   §   JJ   J^ 

CO  -Si  5  5 


^  «  ^  <« 
s  ~  ^  s 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

A  more  pronounced,  though  perhaps  less  sensa- 
tional, success  than  even  this  last  occurred  at  the 
end  of  February,  1902.  Mr.  Marconi,  during  a 
voyage  to  America  on  the  s.s.  Philadelphia  remained 
in  communication  v^rith  Poldhu,  Cornwall,  until  the 
vessel  was  1550  miles  distant,  receiving  messages  on  a 
Morse  recorder  for  any  one  acquainted  with  the  code 
to  read.  Signals  arrived  for  a  further  500  miles,  but 
owing  to  his  instruments  not  being  of  sufficient 
strength,  Mr.  Marconi  could  not  reply. 

When  the  transatlantic  achievement  was  announced 
at  the  end  of  190 1,  there  was  a  tendency  in  some 
quarters  to  decry  the  whole  system.  The  critics 
laid  their  fingers  on  two  weak  points. 

In  the  first  place,  they  said,  the  speed  at  which 
the  messages  could  be  transmitted  was  too  slow  to 
insure  that  the  system  would  pay.  Mr.  Marconi 
replied  that  there  had  been  a  time  when  one  word 
per  minute  was  considered  a  good  working  rate 
across  the  Atlantic  cable;  whereas  he  had  already 
sent  twenty-two  words  per  minute  over  very  long 
distances,  A  further  increase  of  speed  was  only  a 
matter  of  time. 

The  second  objection  raised  centred  on  the  lack 
of  secrecy  resulting  from  signals  being  let  loose  into 
space  to  strike  any  instrument  within  their  range ; 
and  also  on  the  confusion  that  must  arise  when  the 
ether  was  traversed  by  many  sets  of  electric  waves. 

The  young  Italian  inventor  had  been  throughout 
his  experiments  aware  of  these  defects  and  sought 

23 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

means  to  remedy  them.  In  his  earliest  attempts  we 
find  him  using  parabolic  metal  screens  to  project 
his  waves  in  any  required  direction  and  prevent  their 
going  in  any  other.  He  also  employed  strips  of 
metal  in  conjunction  with  the  coherer,  the  strips  or 
"wings"  being  of  such  a  size  as  to  respond  most 
readily  to  waves  of  a  certain  length. 

The  electric  oscillations  coming  from  the  aerial 
wires  carried  on  poles,  kites,  &c.,  were  of  great 
power,  but  their  energy  dispersed  very  quickly  into 
space  in  a  series  of  rapidly  diminishing  vibrations. 
This  fact  made  them  affect  to  a  greater  or  less  degree 
any  receiver  they  might  encounter  on  their  wander- 
ings. If  you  go  into  a  room  where  there  is  a  piano 
and  make  a  loud  noise  near  the  instrument  a  jangle  of 
notes  results.  But  if  you  take  a  tuning-fork  and  after 
striking  it  place  it  near  the  strings,  only  one  string 
will  respond,  ue.  that  of  the  same  pitch  as  the 
fork. 

What  is  required  in  wireless  telegraphy  is  a  system 
corresponding  to  the  use  of  the  tuning-fork.  Unfor- 
tunately, it  has  been  discovered  that  the  syntony 
or  tuning  of  transmitter  and  receiver  reduces  the 
distance  over  which  they  are  effective.  An  electric 
"  noise  "  is  more  far-reaching  than  an  electric  "  note." 

Mr.  Marconi  has,  however,  made  considerable 
advances  towards  combining  the  sympathy  and 
secrecy  of  the  tuning  system  with  the  power  of 
the  "noise"  system.  By  means  of  delicately  ad- 
justed "wings"    and  coils  he  has  brought  it  about 

24 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

that  a  series  of  waves  having  small  individual 
strength,  but  great  regularity,  shall  produce  on  the 
receiver  a  cumulative  effect,  storing,  as  it  were, 
electricity  on  the  surface  of  the  receiver  '^ wings" 
until  it  is  of  sufficient  power  to  overcome  the  re- 
sistance of  the  coherer. 

That  tuned  wireless  telegraphy  is,  over  moderate 
distances,  at  least  as  secret  as  that  through  wires  (which 
can  be  tapped  by  induction)  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  during  the  America  Cup  Yacht  Races  Mr.  Marconi 
sent  daily  to  the  New  York  Herald  messages  of  4000 
total  words,  and  kept  them  private  in  spite  of  all 
efforts  to  intercept  them.  He  claims  to  have  as  many 
as  250  "tunes";  and,  indeed,  there  seems  to  be  no 
limit  to  their  number,  so  that  the  would-be  "  tapper  " 
is  in  the  position  of  a  man  trying  to  open  a  letter-lock 
of  which  he  does  not  know  the  cipher-word.  He  may 
discover  the  right  tune,  but  the  chances  are  greatly 
against  him.  We  may  be  certain  that  the  rapid 
advance  in  wireless  telegraphy  will  not  proceed  much 
further  before  syntonic  messages  can  be  transmitted 
over  hundreds  if  not  thousands  of  miles. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  great 
prospect  that  the  new  telegraphy  opens  to  mankind. 
The  advantages  arising  out  of  a  ready  means  of 
communication,  freed  from  the  shackles  of  expensive 
connecting  wires  and  cables  are,  in  the  main,  obvious 
enough.  We  have  only  to  imagine  all  the  present 
network  of  wires  replaced  or  supplemented  by  ether- 
waves,   which  will    be   able  to    act   between    points 

25 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

{e.g,  ships  and  ships,  ships  and  land,  moving  and 
fixed  objects  generally)  which  cannot  be  connected  by 
metallic  circuits. 

Already  ocean  voyages  are  being  shortened  as 
regards  the  time  during  which  passengers  are  out  of 
contact  with  the  doings  of  the  world.  The  trans- 
atlantic journey  has  now  a  newsless  period  of  but 
three  days.  Navies  are  being  fitted  out  with  instru- 
ments that  may  play  as  important  a  part  as  the  big 
guns  themselves  in  the  next  naval  war.  A  great 
maritime  nation  like  our  own  should  be  especially 
thankful  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  our 
great  empire  will  be  connected  by  invisible  electric 
links  that  no  enemy  may  discover  and  cut. 

The  romantic  side  of  wireless  telegraphy  has  been 
admirably  touched  in  some  words  uttered  by 
Professor  Ayrton  in  1899,  after  the  reading  of  a 
paper  by  Mr.  Marconi  before  the  Institution  of 
Electrical  Engineers. 

**  If  a  person  wished  to  call  to  a  friend "  (said  the 
Professor),  **he  would  use  a  loud  electro-magnetic 
voice,  audible  only  to  him  who  had  the  electro- 
magnetic ear. 

*' '  Where  are  you  ? '  he  would  say. 

"  The  reply  would  come — '  I  am  at  the  bottom  of  a 
coal  mine,'  or  'Crossing  the  Andes/  or  *  In  the  middle 
of  the  Pacific'  Or,  perhaps,  in  spite  of  all  the  calling, 
no  reply  would  come,  and  the  person  would  then 
know  his  friend  was  dead.  Let  them  think  of  what 
that  meant ;  of  the  calling  which  went  on  every  day 

26 


GuPlielmo  Marconi. 


[To  face  p.  26. 


:JNUT  iaiLL,  MAiS. 

Wireless  Telegraphy 

from  room  to  room  of  a  house,  and  then  imagine 
that  calHng  extending  from  pole  to  pole  ;  not  a  noisy 
babble,  but  a  call  audible  to  him  who  wanted  to  hear 
and  absolutely  silent  to  him  who  did  not." 

When  will  Professor  Ayrton's  forecast  come  true  ? 
Who  can  say  ?  Science  is  so  full  of  surprises  that  the 
ordinary  man  wonders  with  a  semi-fear  what  may 
be  the  next  development ;  and  wise  men  like  Lord 
Kelvin  humbly  confess  that  in  comparison  with  what 
has  yet  to  be  learnt  about  the  mysterious  inner 
workings  of  Nature  their  knowledge  is  but  as 
ignorance. 


^7 


HIGH-SPEED    TELEGRAPHY. 

The  wonderful  developments  of  wireless  telegraphy 
must  not  make  us  forget  that  some  very  interest- 
ing and  startling  improvements  have  been  made  in 
connection  with  the  ordinary  wire-circuit  method : 
notably  in  the  matter  of  speed. 

At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  or  under  special 
circumstances  which  can  scarcely  be  foreseen,  a 
great  rush  takes  place  to  transmit  messages  over 
the  wires  connecting  important  towns.  Now,  the 
best  telegraphists  can  with  difficulty  keep  up  a  trans- 
mitting speed  of  even  fifty  words  a  minute  for  so 
long  as  half-an-hour.  The  Morse  alphabet  contains 
on  the  average  three  signals  for  each  letter,  and  the 
average  length  of  a  word  is  six  letters.  Fifty  words 
would  therefore  contain  between  them  900  signals, 
or  fifteen  a  second.  The  strain  of  sending  or  noting 
so  many  for  even  a  brief  period  is  very  wearisome 
to  the  operator. 

Means  have  been  found  of  replacing  the  telegraph 
clerk,  so  far  as  the  actual  signalling  is  concerned, 
by  mechanical  devices. 

In  1842  Alexander  Bain,  a  watchmaker  of  Thurso, 
produced  what  is  known  as  a  *^  chemical  telegraph." 
The  words  to  be  transmitted  were  set  up  in  large 

28 


The  receiving  instrument  used  by  Messrs.  Pollak  &  Virag  in  their  high- 
speed system  of  telegraphy.  This  instrument  is  capable  of  receiving 
and  photographically  recording  messages  at  the  astonishing  speed 
of  50,000  words  an  hour. 

[To  face  f.  28. 


High-Speed  Telegraphy 

metal  type,  all  capitals,  connected  with  the  positive 
pole  of  a  battery,  the  negative  pole  of  which  was 
connected  to  earth.  A  metal  brush,  divided  into 
five  points,  each  termmating  a  wire,  was  passed  over 
the  metal  type.  As  often  as  a  division  of  the  brush 
touched  metal  it  completed  the  electric  circuit  in 
the  wire  to  which  it  was  joined,  and  sent  a  current 
to  the  receiving  station,  where  a  similar  brush  was 
passing  at  similar  speed  over  a  strip  of  paper  soaked 
in  iodide  of  potassium.  The  action  of  the  electricity 
decomposed  the  solution,  turning  it  blue  or  violet. 
The  result  was  a  series  of  letters  divided  longitudin- 
ally into  five  belts  separated  by  white  spaces  repre- 
senting the  intervals  between  the  contact  points  of 
the  brush. 

The  Bain  Chemical  Telegraph  was  able  to  transmit 
the  enormous  number  of  1500  words  per  minute; 
that  is,  at  ten  times  the  rate  of  ordinary  conversation  ! 
But  even  when  improvements  had  reduced  the  line 
wires  from  five  to  one,  the  system,  on  account  of  the 
method  of  composing  the  message  to  be  sent,  was  not 
found  sufficiently  practical  to  come  into  general  use. 

Its  place  was  taken  by  slower  but  preferable 
systems  :  those  of  duplex  and  multiplex  telegraphy. 

When  a  message  is  sent  over  the  wires,  the  actual 
time  of  making  the  signals  is  more  than  is  required 
for  the  current  to  pass  from  place  to  place.  This 
fact  has  been  utilised  by  the  inventors  of  methods 
whereby  two  or  more  messages  may  not  only  be  sent 
the  same  way  along  the  same  wire,  but  may  also  be 

29 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

sent  in  different  directions.  Messages  are  "  duplex  " 
when  they  travel  across  one  another,  "  multiplex  ** 
when  they  travel  together. 

The  principle  whereby  several  instruments  are  able 
to  use  the  same  wire  is  that  of  distributing  among 
the  instruments  the  time  during  which  they  are  in 
contact  with  the  line. 

Let  us  suppose  that  four  transmitters  are  sending 
messages  simultaneously  from  London  to  Edinburgh. 

Wires  from  all  four  instruments  are  led  into  a 
circular  contact-maker,  divided  into  some  hundreds 
of  insulated  segments  connected  in  rotation  with  the 
four  transmitters.  Thus  instrument  A  will  be  joined 
to  segments  i,  5,  9,  13;  instrument  B  to  segments 
2,  6,  10,  14  ;  instrument  C  with  segments  3,  7,  11, 
15  ;  and  so  on. 

Along  the  top  of  the  segments  an  arm,  connected 
with  the  telegraph  line  to  Edinburgh,  revolves  at  a 
uniform  rate.  For  about  -^-^  of  a  second  it  unites 
a  segment  with  an  instrument.  If  there  are  150 
segments  on  the  "  distributor,"  and  the  arm  revolves 
three  times  a  second,  each  instrument  will  be  put 
into  contact  with  the  line  rather  of tener  than  no  times 
per  second.  And  if  the  top  speed  of  fifty  words  a 
minute  is  being  worked  to,  each  of  the  fifteen  signals 
occurring  in  each  second  will  be  on  the  average 
divided  among  seven  moments  of  contact. 

A  similar  apparatus  at  Edinburgh  receives  the 
messages.  It  is  evident  that  for  the  system  to  work 
satisfactorily,  or  even  to  escape  dire  confusion,  the 

30 


High-Speed  Telegraphy 

revolving  arms  must  run  at  a  level  speed  in  perfect 
unison  with  one  another.  When  the  London  arm 
is  over  segment  i,  the  Edinburgh  arm  must  cover 
the  same  number.  The  greatest  difficulty  in  multi- 
plex telegraphy  has  been  to  adjust  the  timing 
exactly. 

Paul  la  Cour  of  Copenhagen  invented  for  driving 
the  arms  a  device  called  the  Phonic  Wheel,  as  its 
action  was  regulated  by  the  vibrations  of  a  tuning- 
fork.  The  wheel,  made  of  soft  iron,  and  toothed 
on  its  circumference,  revolves  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  pole  of  a  magnet.  As  often  as  a  current 
enters  the  magnet  the  latter  attracts  the  nearest 
tooth  of  the  wheel ;  and  if  a  regular  series  of  cur- 
rents pass  through  it  the  motion  of  the  wheel  will 
be  uniform.  M.  la  Cour  produced  the  regularity 
of  current  impulses  in  the  motor  magnet  by  means 
of  a  tuning-fork,  which  is  unable  to  vibrate  more 
than  a  certain  number  of  times  a  second,  and  at 
each  vibration  closed  a  circuit  sending  current  into 
the  magnet.  To  get  two  tuning-forks  of  the  same 
note  is  an  easy  matter ;  and  consequently  a  uni- 
formity of  rotation  at  both  London  and  Edinburgh 
stations  may  be  insured. 

So  sensitive  is  this  "  interrupter  "  system  that  as 
many  as  sixteen  messages  can  be  sent  simultaneously, 
which  means  that  a  single  wire  is  conveying  from 
500  to  800  words  a  minute.  We  can  easily  under- 
stand the  huge  saving  that  results  from  such  a  system  ; 
the  cost  of   instruments,  interrupter,  &c.,  being  but 

31 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

small  in  proportion  to  that  of  a  number  of  separate 
conductors. 

The  word-sending  capacity  of  a  line  may  be  even 
further  increased  by  the  use  of  automatic  transmitters 
able  to  work  much  faster  in  signal-making  than  the 
human  brain  and  hand.  Sir  Charles  Wheatstone's 
Automatic  Transmitter  has  long  been  used  in  the 
Post-Office  establishments. 

The  messages  to  be  sent  are  first  of  all  punched 
on  a  long  tape  with  three  parallel  rows  of  per- 
forations. The  central  row  is  merely  for  guiding 
the  tape  through  the  transmitting  machine.  The 
positions  of  the  holes  in  the  two  outside  rows  re- 
latively to  each  other  determine  the  character  of 
the  signal  to  be  sent.  Thus,  when  three  holes  (in- 
cluding the  central  one)  are  abreast,  a  Morse  ^^dot" 
is  signified ;  when  the  left-hand  hole  is  one  place 
behind  the  right  hand,  a  *'  dash"  will  be  tele- 
graphed. 

In  the  case  of  a  long  communication  the  matter  is 
divided  among  a  number  of  clerks  operating  punching 
machines.  Half-a-dozen  operators  could  between 
them  punch  holes  representing  250  to  300  words  a 
minute  ;  and  the  transmitter  is  capable  of  despatching 
as  many  in  the  same  time,  while  it  has  the  additional 
advantage  of  being  tireless. 

The  action  of  the  transmitter  is  based  upon  the 
reversal  of  the  direction  or  nature  of  current.  The 
punched  tape  is  passed  between  an  oscillating  lever, 
carrying  two  points,  and  plates  connected  with  the 

32 


High-Speed  Telegraphy 

two  poles  of  the  battery.  As  soon  as  a  hole  comes 
under  a  pin  the  pin  drops  through  and  makes  a 
contact. 

At  the  receiving  end  the  wire  is  connected  with  a 
coil  wound  round  the  pole  of  a  permanent  bar- 
magnet.  Such  a  magnet  has  what  is  known  as  a 
north  pole  and  a  south  pole,  the  one  attractive  and 
the  other  repulsive  of  steel  or  soft  iron.  Any  bar  of 
soft  iron  can  be  made  temporarily  into  a  magnet  by 
twisting  round  it  a  few  turns  of  a  wire  in  circuit  with 
the  poles  of  a  battery.  But  which  will  be  the  north 
and  which  the  south  pole  depends  on  the  direction 
of  the  current.  If,  then,  a  current  passes  in  one 
direction  round  the  north  pole  of  a  permanent 
magnet  it  will  increase  the  magnet's  attractive  power, 
but  will  decrease  it  if  sent  in  the  other  direction. 

The  '^  dot "  holes  punched  in  the  tape  being  abreast 
cause  first  a  positive  and  then  a  negative  current 
following  at  a  very  short  interval;  but  the  ^^dash" 
holes  not  being  opposite  allow  the  positive  current  to 
occupy  the  wires  for  a  longer  period.  Consequently 
the  Morse  marker  rests  for  correspondingly  unequal 
periods  on  the  recording  'Uape,"  giving  out  a  series 
of  dots  and  dashes,  as  the  inker  is  snatched  quickly 
or  more  leisurely  from  the  paper. 

The  Wheatstone  recorder  has  been  worked  up  to 
400  words  a  minute,  and  when  two  machines  are  by 
the  multiplex  method  acting  together  this  rate  is  of 
course  doubled. 

As  a  speed  machine  it   has,  however,  been  com- 

33  c 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

pletely  put  in  the  shade  by  a  more  recent  invention 
of  two  Hungarian  electricians,  Anton  Pollak  and 
Josef  Virag,  which  combines  the  perforated  strip 
method  of  transmission  with  the  telephone  and 
photography.  The  message  is  sent  off  by  means  of 
a  punched  tape,  and  is  recorded  by  means  of  a 
telephonic  diaphragm  and  light  marking  a  sensitised 
paper. 

In  1898  the  inventors  made  trials  of  their  system 
for  the  benefit  of  the  United  Electrical  Company  of 
Buda-Pesth.  The  Hungarian  capital  was  connected 
by  two  double  Hnes  of  wire  with  a  station  200  miles 
distant,  where  the  two  sets  were  joined  so  as  to  give 
a  single  circuit  of  400  miles  in  length.  A  series  of 
tests  in  all  weathers  showed  that  the  Pollak- Virag 
system  could  transmit  as  many  as  100,000  words  an 
hour  over  that  distance. 

From  Hungary  the  inventors  went  to  the  United 
States,  in  which  country  of  ^'  records ''  no  less  than 
155,000  words  were  despatched  and  received  in  the 
sixty  minutes.  This  average — 2580  words  per  minute, 
43  per  second — is  truly  remarkable  !  Even  between 
New  York  and  Chicago,  separated  by  950  odd  miles, 
the  wires  kept  up  an  average  of  1000  per  minute. 

The  apparatus  that  produces  these  marvellous  re- 
sults is  of  two  types.  The  one  type  records  messages 
in  the  Morse  alphabet,  the  other  makes  clearly-written 
longhand  characters.  The  former  is  the  faster  of 
the  two,  but  the  legibility  of  the  other  more  than 
compensates  for  the  decrease  of  speed  by  one-half, 

34 


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^'um ■Ki/V'     y     w  i 


r. ,' 


Specimens  of  the  punched  tape  nscd  for  transmitting  messages  by  the  Pollak- 
Virag  system,  and  of  a  message  as  it  is  delivered  by  the  receiving  machine. 

[To  face  p.  34. 


High-Speed  Telegraphy 

The  Morse  alphabet  method  closely  resembles  the 
Wheatstone  system.  The  message  is  prepared  for 
transmission  by  being  punched  on  a  tape.  But  there 
is  this  difference  in  the  position  of  the  holes,  that 
whereas  in  the  Wheatstone  method  two  holes  are 
used  for  each  dot  and  dash,  only  one  is  required 
in  the  Pollak-Virag.  If  to  the  right  of  the  central 
guiding  line  it  signifies  a  "dash,"  if  to  the  left,  a 
"dot." 

The  "  reversal-of-current "  method,  already  ex- 
plained, causes  at  the  receiver  end  an  increase  or 
decrease  in  the  power  of  a  permanent  magnet  to 
attract  or  repel  a  diaphragm,  the  centre  of  which  is 
connected  by  a  very  fine  metal  bar  with  the  centre 
of  a  tiny  mirror  hinged  at  one  side  on  two  points. 
A  very  slight  movement  of  the  diaphragm  produces 
an  exaggerated  movement  of  the  mirror,  which,  as 
it  tilts  backwards  and  forwards,  reflects  the  light  from 
an  electric  lamp  on  to  a  lens,  which  concentrates  the 
rays  into  a  bright  spot,  and  focuses  them  on  to  a 
surface  of  sensitised  paper. 

In  their  earliest  apparatus  the  inventors  attached 
the  paper  to  the  circumference  of  a  vertical  cylinder, 
which  revolved  at  an  even  pace  on  an  axle,  furnished 
at  the  lower  end  with  a  screw  thread,  so  that  the 
portion  of  paper  affected  by  the  light  occupied  a 
spiral  path  from  top  to  bottom  of  the  cylinder. 

In  a  later  edition,  however,  an  endless  band  of 
sensitised  paper  is  employed,  and  the  lamp  is  screened 
from  the  mirror  by  a  horizontal  mantle  in  which  is 

35 


Romance"^of  Modern  Invention 

cut  a  helical  slit  making  one  complete  turn  of  the 
cylinder  in  its  length.  The  mantle  is  rotated  in  unison 
with  the  machinery  driving  the  sensitised  band ;  and 
as  it  revolves,  the  spot  at  which  the  light  from  the 
filament  can  pass  through  the  slit  to  the  mirror  is 
constantly  shifting  from  right  to  left,  and  the  point 
at  which  the  reflected  light  from  the  mirror  strikes 
the  sensitised  paper  from  left  to  right.  At  the 
moment  when  a  line  is  finished,  the  right  extremity 
of  the  mantle  begins  to  pass  light  again,  and  the 
bright  spot  of  light  recommences  its  work  at  the  left 
edge  of  the  band,  which  has  now  moved  on  a  space. 

The  movements  of  the  mirror  backwards  and  for- 
wards produce  on  the  paper  a  zigzag  tracing  known 
as  syphon-writing.  The  record,  which  is  continuous 
from  side  to  side  of  the  band,  is  a  series  of  zigzag 
up-and-down  strokes,  corresponding  to  the  dots  and 
dashes  of  the  Morse  alphabet. 

The  apparatus  for  transmitting  longhand  characters 
is  more  complicated  than  that  just  described.  Two 
telephones  are  now  used,  and  the  punched  tape  has 
in  it  five  rows  of  perforations.  » 

If  we  take  a  copy-book  and  examine  the  letters, 
we  shall  see  that  they  all  occupy  one,  two,  or  three 
bands  of  space.  For  instance,  a,  between  the  lines, 
occupies  one  band;  ^,  two  bands;  and/,  three.  In 
forming  letters,  the  movements  of  the  fingers  trace 
curves  and  straight  fines,  the  curves  being  the  result- 
ants of  combined  horizontal  and  vertical  movements, 

Messrs.    PoUak  and   Virag,   in   order   to    produce 

36 


High-Speed  Telegraphy- 
curves,  were  obliged  to  add  a  second  telephone,  fur- 
nished also  with  a  metal  bar  joined  to  the  mirror, 
which  rests  on  three  points  instead  of  on  two.  One 
of  these  points  is  fixed,  the  other  two  represent  the 
ends  of  the  two  diaphragm  bars,  which  move  the 
mirror  vertically  and  horizontally  respectively,  either 
separately  or  simultaneously. 

A  word  about  the  punched  paper  before  going 
further.  It  contains,  as  we  have  said,  five  rows  of 
perforations.  The  top  three  of  these  are  concerned 
only  with  the  up-and-down  strokes  of  the  letters,  the 
bottom  two  with  the  cross  strokes.  When  a  hole 
of  one  set  is  acting  in  unison  with  a  hole  of  the 
other  set  a  composite  movement  or  curve  results. 

The  topmost  row  of  all  sends  through  the  wires 
a  negative  current  of  known  strength  ;  this  produces 
upward  and  return  strokes  in  the  upper  zone  of  the 
letters  :  for  instance,  the  upper  part  of  a  /.  The 
second  row  p3.sses  positive  currents  of  equal  strength 
with  the  negative,  and  influences  the  up-and-down 
strokes  of  the  centre  zone,  e.^",  those  of  o;  the  third 
row  passes  positive  currents  twice  as  strong  as  the 
negative,  and  is  responsible  for  double-length  vertical 
strokes  in  the  centre  and  lower  zones,  e.^",  the  stroke 
in/. 

In  order  that  the  record  shall  not  be  a  series  of 
zigzags  it  is  necessary  that  the  return  strokes  in  the 
vertical  elements  shall  be  on  the  same  path  as  the 
out  strokes ;  and  as  the  point  of  light  is  continuously 
tending  to  move  from  left  to  right  of  the  paper  there 

37 


Romance  ot  Modern  Invention 

must  at  times  be  present  a  counteracting  tendency 
counterbalancing  it  exactly,  so  that  the  path  of  the 
light  point  is  purely  vertical.  At  other  times  not 
merely  must  the  horizontal  movements  balance  each 
other,  but  the  right-to-left  element  must  be  stronger 
than  the  left-to-right,  so  that  strokes  such  as  the  left 
curve  of  an  e  may  be  possible.  To  this  end  rows 
4  and  5  of  the  perforations  pass  currents  working 
the  second  telephone  diaphragm,  which  moves  the 
mirror  on  a  vertical  axis  so  that  it  reflects  the  ray 
horizontally. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  holes  in  rows  3,  4,  5 
vary  in  size  to  permit  the  passage  of  currents  during 
periods  of  different  length.  In  this  manner  the  little 
junction-hooks  of  such  letters  as  r,  w^  v,  b  are  effected. 

As  fast  as  the  sensitised  paper  strip  is  covered  with 
the  movements  of  the  dancing  spot  of  light  it  is  passed 
on  over  rollers  through  developing  and  fixing  che- 
mical baths ;  so  that  the  receiving  of  messages  is 
purely  automatic. 

The  reader  can  judge  for  himself  the  results  of 
this  ingenious  system  as  shown  in  a  short  section 
of  a  message  transmitted  by  Mr.  Pollak.  The  words 
shown  actually  occupied  two  seconds  in  transmission. 
They  are  beautifully  clear. 

It  is  said  that  by  the  aid  of  a  special  ''  multiplex  " 
device  thirty  sets  of  PoUak-Virag  apparatus  can 
be  used  simultaneously  on  a  line  1  The  reader  will 
be  able,  by  the  aid  of  a  small  calculation,  to  arrive  at 
some  interesting  figures  as  regards  their  united  output. 

38 


THE   TELEPHONE. 

A  COMMON  enough  sight  in  any  large  town  is  a  great 
sheaf  of  fine  wires  running  across  the  streets  and  over 
the  houses.  If  you  traced  their  career  in  one  direc- 
tion you  would  find  that  they  suddenly  terminate,  or 
rather  combine  into  cables,  and  disappear  into  the 
recesses  of  a  house,  which  is  the  Telephone  Exchange. 
If  you  tracked  them  the  other  way  your  experience 
would  be  varied  enough.  Some  wires  would  lead  you 
into  public  institutions,  some  into  offices,  some  into 
snug  rooms  in  private  houses.  At  one  time  your 
journey  would  end  in  the  town,  at  another  you 
would  find  yourself  roaming  far  into  the  country, 
through  green  fields  and  leafy  lanes  until  at  last  you 
ran  the  wire  to  earth  in  some  large  mansion  standing  in 
a  lordly  park.  Perhaps  you  might  have  to  travel  hun- 
dreds of  miles,  having  struck  a  "  trunk  "  line  connect- 
ing two  important  cities  ;  or  you  might  even  be  called 
upon  to  turn  fish  and  plunge  beneath  the  sea  for  a 
while,  groping  your  way  along  a  submarine  cable. 

In  addition  to  the  visible  overhead  wires  that 
traverse  a  town  there  are  many  led  underground 
through  special  conduits.  And  many  telephone  wires 
never  come  out  of  doors  at  all,  their  object  being  to 
furnish    communication  between   the   rooms  of  the 

39 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

same  house.  The  telephone  and  its  friend,  the 
electric-bell,  are  now  a  regular  part  of  the  equipment 
of  any  large  premises.  The  master  of  the  house  goes 
to  his  telephone  when  he  wishes  to  address  the  cook 
or  the  steward,  or  the  head-gardener  or  the  coachman. 
It  saves  time  and  labour. 

Should  he  desire  to  speak  to  his  town-offices  he 
will,  unless  connected  direct,  '^ring  up"  the  Exchange, 
into  which,  as  we  have  seen,  flow  all  the  wires  of  the 
subscribers  to  the  telephone  system  of  that  district. 
The  ringing-up  is  usually  done  by  rapidly  turning  a 
handle  which  works  an  electric  magnet  and  rings  a  bell 
in  the  Exchange.  The  operator  there,  generally  a  girl, 
demands  the  number  of  the  person  with  whom  the 
ringer  wants  to  speak,  rings  up  that  number,  and 
connects  the  wires  of  the  two  parties. 

In  some  exchanges,  e.g.  the  new  Post-Office  tele- 
phone exchanges,  the  place  of  electric-bells  is  taken 
by  lamps,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  operators, 
whose  ears  are  thus  freed  from  perpetual  jangling. 
The  action  of  unhooking  the  telephone  receiver  at 
the  subscriber's  end  sends  a  current  into  a  relay 
which  closes  the  circuit  of  an  electric  lamp  opposite 
the  subscriber's  number  in  the  exchange.  Similarly, 
when  the  conversation  is  completed  the  action  of 
hanging  up  the  receiver  again  lights  another  lamp 
of  a  different  colour,  given  the  exchange  warning 
that  the  wires  are  free  again. 

In  America,  the  country  of  automatic  appliances, 
the  operator   is   sometimes   entirely   dispensed  with. 

40 


The  Telephone 


A  subscriber  is  able,  by  means  of  a  mechanical  con- 
trivance, to  put  himself  in  communication  with  any 
other  subscriber  unless  that  subscriber  is  engaged,  in 
which  case  a  dial  records  the  fact. 

The  popularity  of  the  telephone  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  in  1901  the  National  Telephone 
Company's  system  transmitted  over  807  millions  of 
messages,  as  compared  with  89  millions  of  telegrams 
sent  over  the  Post  Office  wires.  In  America  and  Ger- 
many, however,  the  telephone  is  even  more  universally 
employed  than  in  England.  In  the  thinly  populated 
prairies  of  West  America  the  farm-houses  are  often 
connected  with  a  central  station  many  miles  off,  from 
which  they  receive  news  of  the  outer  world  and  are 
able  to  keep  in  touch  with  one  another.  We  are  not, 
perhaps,  as  a  nation  sufficiently  alive  to  the  advan- 
tages of  an  efficient  telephone  system  ;  and  on  this 
account  many  districts  remain  telephoneless  because 
sufficient  subscribers  cannot  be  found  to  guarantee 
use  of  a  system  if  established.  It  has  been  seriously 
urged  that  much  of  our  country  depopulation  might 
be  counteracted  by  a  universal  telephone  service, 
which  would  enable  people  to  live  at  a  distance  from 
the  towns  and  yet  be  in  close  contact  with  them.  At 
present,  for  the  sake  of  convenience  and  ease  of 
"getting  at"  clients  and  customers,  many  business 
men  prefer  to  have  their  homes  just  outside  the  towns 
where  their  business  is.  A  cheap  and  efficient  service 
open  to  every  one  would  do  away  with  a  great  deal  of 
travelling   that   is   necessary  under  existing  circum- 

41 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

stances,  and  by  making  it  less  important  to  live  near 
a  town  allow  people  to  return  to  the  country. 

Even  Norway  has  a  good  telephone  system.  The 
telegraph  is  little  used  in  the  more  thinly  inhabited 
districts,  but  the  telephone  may  be  found  in  most 
unexpected  places,  in  little  villages  hidden  in  the 
recesses  of  the  fiords.  Switzerland,  another  mountain- 
ous country,  but  very  go-ahead  in  all  electrical  matters, 
is  noted  for  the  cheapness  of  its  telephone  services. 
At  Berne  or  Geneva  a  subscriber  pays  £^  the  first 
year,  £2,  12s.  the  second  year,  and  but  £1,  12s.  the 
third.  Contrast  these  charges  with  those  of  New 
York,  where  £1^,  los.  to  £^gf  los.  is  levied  annually 
according  to  service. 

The  telephone  as  a  public  benefactor  is  seen  at 
its  best  at  Buda-Pesth,  the  twin-capital  of  Hungary. 
In  1893,  one  Herr  Theodore  Buschgasch  founded 
in  that  city  a  ^'  newspaper  " — if  so  it  may  be  called — 
worked  entirely  on  the  telephone.  The  publishing 
office  was  a  telephone  exchange ;  the  wires  and 
instruments  took  the  place  of  printed  matter.  The 
subscribers  were  to  be  informed  entirely  by  ear  of 
the  news  of  the  day. 

The  Telefon  Hirmondo  or  "  Telephonic  Newsteller," 
as  the  "  paper  "  was  named,  has  more  than  six  thousand 
subscribers,  who  enjoy  their  telephones  for  the  very 
small  payment  of  eighteen  florins,  or  about  a  penny  a 
day,  for  twelve  hours  a  day. 

News  is  collected  at  the  central  office  in  the  usual 
journalistic  way  by  telephone,  telegraph,  and  reporters. 

42 


The  Telephone 


It  is  printed  by  lithography  on  strips  of  paper  six  inches 
wide  and  two  feet  long.  These  strips  are  handed  to 
^'stentors/'  or  men  with  powerful  and  trained  voices, 
who  read  the  contents  to  transmitting  instruments  in 
the  offices,  whence  it  flies  in  all  directions  to  the  ears 
of  the  subscribers. 

These  last  know  exactly  when  to  listen  and  what 
description  of  information  they  will  hear,  for  each  has 
over  his  receiver  a  programme  which  is  rigidly 
adhered  to.  It  must  be  explained  at  once  that  the 
Telefon  Hirmondo  is  more  than  a  mere  newspaper, 
for  it  adds  to  its  practical  use  as  a  first-class  journal 
that  of  entertainer,  lecturer,  preacher,  actor,  poli- 
tical speaker,  musician.  The  Telefon  offices  are 
connected  by  wire  with  the  theatres,  churches,  and 
public  halls,  drawing  from  them  by  means  of  special 
receivers  the  sounds  that  are  going  on  there,  and 
transmitting  them  again  over  the  wires  to  the  thousands 
of  subscribers.  The  Buda-Pesthian  has  therefore  only 
to  consult  his  programme  to  see  when  he  will  be 
in  touch  with  his  favourite  actor  or  preacher.  The 
ladies  know  just  when  to  expect  the  latest  hints  about 
the  fashions  of  the  day.  Nor  are  the  children  for- 
gotten, for  a  special  period  is  set  aside  weekly  for  their 
entertainment  in  the  shape  of  lectures  or  concerts. 

The  advertising  fiend,  too,  must  have  his  say,  though 
he  pays  dearly  for  it.  On  payment  of  a  florin  the 
stentors  will  shout  the  virtues  of  his  wares  for  a  space 
of  twelve  seconds.  The  advertising  periods  are 
sandwiched  in   between   items   of  news,  so  that  the 

43 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

subscriber  is  bound  to  hear  the  advertisements  unless 
he  is  willing  to  risk  missing  some  of  the  news  if  he 
hangs  up  his  receiver  until  the  "  puff  "  is  finished. 

Thanks  to  the  Telefon  Hirmondo  the  preacher,  actor, 
or  singer  is  obliged  to  calculate  his  popularity  less  by 
the  condition  of  the  seats  in  front  of  him  than  by  the 
number  of  telephones  in  use  while  he  is  performing 
his  part.  On  the  other  hand,  the  subscriber  is  spared 
a  vast  amount  of  walking,  waiting,  cab-hire,  and 
expense  generally.  In  fact,  if  the  principle  is  much 
further  developed,  we  shall  begin  to  doubt  whether  a 
Buda-Pesthian  will  be  able  to  discover  reasons  for 
getting  out  of  bed  at  all  if  the  receiver  hanging  within 
reach  of  his  hand  is  the  entrance  to  so  many  places  of 
delight.  Will  he  become  a  very  lazy  person  ;  and 
what  will  be  the  effect  on  his  entertainers  when  they 
find  themselves  facing  benches  that  are  used  less 
every  day  ?  Will  the  sight  of  a  row  of  telephone 
trumpets  rouse  the  future  Liddon,  Patti,  Irving,  or 
Gladstone  to  excel  themselves  ?  It  seems  rather 
doubtful.  Telephones  cannot  look  interested  or 
applaud. 

What  is  inside  the  simple-looking  receiver  that 
hangs  on  the  wall  beside  a  small  mahogany  case,  or 
rests  horizontally  on  a  couple  of  crooks  over  the  case  ? 
In  the  older  type  of  instrument  the  transmitter  and 
receiver  are  separate,  the  former  fixed  in  front  of  the 
case,  the  latter,  of  course,  movable  so  that  it  can  be 
applied  to  the  ear.  But  improved  patterns  have 
transmitter  and  receiver  in  a  single  movable  handle, 

44 


The  Telephone 


so  shaped  that  the  earpiece  is  by  the  ear  while  the 
mouthpiece  curves  round  opposite  the  mouth.  By 
pressing  a  small  lever  with  the  fingers  the  one  or  the 
other  is  brought  into  action  when  required.  . 

The  construction  of  the  instrument,  of  which  we  are 
at  first  a  little  afraid,  and  with  which  we  later  on  learn 
to  become  rather  angry,  is  in  its  general  lines  simple 
enough.  The  first  practical  telephone,  constructed 
in  1876  by  Graham  Bell,  a  Scotchman,  consisted  of  a 
long  wooden  or  ebonite  handle  down  the  centre  of 
which  ran  a  permanent  bar-magnet,  having  at  one 
end  a  small  coil  of  fine  insulated  wire  wound  about  it. 
The  ends  of  the  wire  coil  are  led  through  the  handles 
to  two  terminals  for  connection  with  the  line  wires 
At  a  very  short  distance  from  the  wire-wound  pole 
of  the  magnet  is  firmly  fixed  by  its  edges  a  thin 
circular  iron  plate,  covered  by  a  funnel-shaped 
mouthpiece. 

The  iron  plate  is,  when  at  rest,  concave,  its  centre 
being  attracted  towards  the  pole  of  the  magnet. 
When  any  one  speaks  into  the  mouthpiece  the 
sound  waves  agitate  the  diaphragm  (or  plate),  caus- 
ing its  centre  to  move  inwards  and  outwards.  The 
movements  of  the  diaphragm  affect  the  magnetism 
of  the  magnet,  sometimes  strengthening  it,  sometimes 
weakening  it,  and  consequently  exciting  electric  cur- 
rents of  varying  strength  in  the  wire  coil.  These 
currents  passing  through  the  line  wires  to  a  similar 
telephone  excite  the  coil  in  it,  and  in  turn  affect 
the  magnetism  of  the  distant  magnet,  which  attracts 

45 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

or  releases  the  diaphragm  near  its  pole,  causing 
undulations  of  the  air  exactly  resembling  those  set 
up  by  the  speaker's  words.  To  render  the  telephone 
powerful  enough  to  make  conversation  possible  over 
long  distances  it  was  found  advisable  to  substitute 
for  the  one  telephone  a  special  transmitter,  and  to 
insert  in  the  circuit  a  battery  giving  a  much  stronger 
current  than  could  possibly  be  excited  by  the  magnet 
in  the  telephone  at  the  speaker's  end. 

Edison  in  1877  invented  a  special  transmitter  made 
of  carbon.  He  discovered  that  the  harder  two  faces 
of  carbon  are  pressed  together  the  more  readily  will 
they  allow  current  to  pass ;  the  reason  probably 
being  that  the  points  of  contact  increase  in  number 
and  afford  more  bridges  for  the  current. 

Accordingly  his  transmitter  contains  a  small  disc 
of  lampblack  (a  form  of  carbon)  connected  to  the 
diaphragm,  and  another  carbon  or  platinum  disc 
against  which  the  first  is  driven  with  varying  force 
by  the  vibrations  of  the  voice. 

The  Edison  transmitter  is  therefore  in  idea  only 
a  modification  of  the  microphone.  It  acts  as  a 
regulator  of  current,  in  distinction  to  the  Bell  tele- 
phone, which  is  only  an  exciter  of  current.  Modern 
forms  of  telephones  unite  the  Edison  transmitter 
with  the  Bell  receiver. 

The  latter  is  extremely  sensitive  to  electric  currents, 
detecting  them  even  when  of  the  minutest  power. 
We  have  seen  that  Marconi  used  a  telephone  in  his 
famous  transatlantic  experiments   to  distinguish  the 

46 


The  Telephone 


signals  sent  from  Cornwall.  A  telephone  may  be 
used  with  an  ''earth  return"  instead  of  a  second 
wire ;  but  as  this  exposes  it  to  stray  currents  by 
induction  from  other  wires  carried  on  the  same 
poles  or  from  the  earth  itself,  it  is  now  usual  to  use 
two  wires,  completing  the  metallic  circuit.  Even  so 
a  subscriber  is  liable  to  overhear  conversations  on 
wires  neighbouring  his  own ;  the  writer  has  lively 
recollections  of  first  receiving  news  of  the  relief  of 
Ladysmith  in  this  manner. 

Owing  to  the  self-induction  of  wires  in  submarine 
cables  and  the  consequent  difficulty  of  forcing  cur- 
rents through  them,  the  telephone  is  at  present  not 
used  in  connection  with  submarine  lines  of  more 
than  a  very  moderate  length,  England  has,  however, 
been  connected  with  France  by  a  telephone  cable 
from  St.  Margaret's  Bay  to  Sangatte,  23  miles  ;  and 
Scotland  with  Ireland,  Stranraer  to  Donaghadee, 
26  miles.  The  former  cable  enables  speech  between 
London  and  Marseilles,  a  distance  of  900  miles ;  and 
the  latter  makes  it  possible  to  speak  from  London 
to  Dublin  via  Glasgow.  The  longest  direct  line  in 
existence  is  that  between  New  York  and  Chicago, 
the  complete  circuit  of  which  uses  1900  miles  of 
stout  copper  wire,  raised  above  the  ground  on  poles 
35  feet  high. 

The  efficiency  of  the  telephone  on  a  well  laid 
system  is  so  great  that  it  makes  very  little  difference 
whether  the  persons  talking  with  one  another  are 
50  or  500  miles  apart.     There  is  no  reason  why  a 

47 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Cape  -  to  -  Cairo  telephone  should  not  put  the  two 
extremities  of  Africa  in  clear  vocal  communication. 
We  may  even  live  to  see  the  day  when  a  London 
business  man  will  be  able  to  talk  with  his  agent  in 
Sydney,  Melbourne,  or  Wellington. 

A  step  towards  this  last  achievement  has  been 
taken  by  M.  Germain,  a  French  electrician,  who 
has  patented  a  telephone  which  can  be  used  with 
stronger  currents  than  are  possible  in  ordinary  tele- 
phones ;  thereby,  of  course,  increasing  the  range  of 
speech  on  submarine  cables. 

The  telephone  that  we  generally  use  has  a  trans- 
mitter which  permits  but  a  small  portion  of  the  battery 
power  to  pass  into  the  wires,  owing  to  the  resistance 
of  the  carbon  diaphragm.  The  weakness  of  the 
current  is  to  a  great  extent  compensated  by  the 
exceedingly  delicate  nature  of  the  receiver. 

M.  Germain  has  reversed  the  conditions  with  a 
transmitter  that  allows  a  very  high  percentage  of  the 
current  to  flow  into  the  wires,  and  a  comparatively 
insensitive  receiver.  The  result  is  a  "loud-speaking 
telephone" — not  a  novelty,  for  Edison  invented  one 
as  long  ago  as  1877 — which  is  capable  of  reproducing 
speech  in  a  wonderfully  powerful  fashion. 

M.  Germain,  with  the  help  of  special  tubular 
receivers,  has  actually  sent  messages  through  a  line 
having  the  same  resistance  as  that  of  the  London- 
Paris  line,  so  audibly  that  the  words  could  be  heard 
fifteen  yards  from  the  receiver  in  the  open  air  I 


48 


The  Telephone 


Wireless  Telephony. 

In  days  when  wireless  telegraphy  is  occupying 
such  a  great  deal  of  the  world's  attention,  it  is  not 
likely  to  cause  much  astonishment  in  the  reader  to 
learn  that  wireless  transmission  of  speech  over  con- 
siderable distances  is  an  accompHshed  fact.  We 
have  already  m.entioned  (see  ^^  Wireless  Telegraphy  ") 
that  by  means  of  parallel  systems  of  wires  Sir  William 
Preece  bridged  a  large  air-gap,  and  induced  in  the 
one  sounds  imparted  to  the  other. 

Since  then  two  other  methods  have  been  intro- 
duced ;  and  as  a  preface  to  the  mention  of  the  first 
we  may  say  a  few  words  about  Graham  Bell's 
Photophone, 

In  this  instrument  light  is  made  to  do  the  work 
of  a  metal  connection  between  speaker  and  listener. 
Professor  Bell,  in  arranging  the  Photophone,  used  a 
mouthpiece  as  in  his  electric  telephone,  but  instead 
of  a  diaphragm  working  in  front  of  a  magnet  to  set 
up  electric  impulses  along  a  wire  he  employed  a 
mirror  of  very  thin  glass,  silvered  on  one  side.  The 
effect  of  sound  on  this  mirror  was  to  cause  rapid 
alterations  of  its  shape  from  concave  to  convex,  and 
consequent  variations  of  its  reflecting  power.  A 
strong  beam  of  light  was  concentrated  on  the  centre 
of  the  mirror  through  a  lens,  and  reflected  by  the 
mirror  at  an  angle  through  another  lens  in  the 
direction  of  the  receiving  instrument.  The  receiver 
consisted  of   a  parabolic  reflector  to  catch  the  rays 

49  D 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

and  focus  them  on  a  selenium  cell  connected  by  an 
electric  circuit  with  an  ordinary  telephone  earpiece. 

On  delivering  a  message  into  the  mouthpiece  the 
speaker  would,  by  agitating  the  mirror,  send  a  suc- 
cession of  light  waves  of  varying  intensity  towards 
the  distant  selenium  cell.  Selenium  has  the  peculiar 
property  of  offering  less  resistance  to  electrical  cur- 
rents when  light  is  thrown  upon  it  than  when  it  is 
in  darkness  :  and  the  more  intense  is  the  light  the 
less  is  the  obstruction  it  affords.  The  light-waves 
from  the  mirror,  therefore,  constantly  alter  its  capacity 
as  a  conductor,  allowing  currents  to  pass  through  the 
telephone  with  varying  power. 

In  this  way  Professor  Bell  bridged  800  yards  of 
space ;  over  which  he  sent,  besides  articulate  words, 
musical  notes,  using  for  the  latter  purpose  a  revolving 
perforated  disc  to  interrupt  a  constant  beam  of  light 
a  certain  number  of  times  per  second.  As  the  speed 
of  the  disc  increased  the  rate  of  the  light-flashes 
increased  also,  and  produced  in  the  selenium  cell  i 
the  same  number  of  passages  to  the  electric  current,  | 
converted  into  a  musical  note  by  the  receiver.  So  \ 
that  by  means  of  mechanical  apparatus  a  ^^  playful 
sunbeam  "  could  literally  be  compelled  to  play  a  tune. 

From  the  Photophone  we  pass  to  another  method 
of  sound  transmission  by  light,  with  which  is  con- 
nected the  name  of  Mr.  Hammond  V.  Hayes  of 
Boston,  Massachusetts.  It  is  embodied  in  the  Radio- 
phone, or  the  Ray-speaker,  for  it  makes  strong  rays  | 
of  light  carry  the  human  voice. 

50 


The  Telephone 

Luminous  bodies  give  off  heat.  As  the  light  in- 
creases, so  as  a  general  rule  does  the  heat  also.  At 
present  we  are  unable  to  create  strong  light  without 
having  recourse  to  heat  to  help  us,  since  we  do  not 
know  how  to  cause  other  vibrations  of  sufficient 
rapidity  to  yield  the  sensation  of  light.  But  we  can 
produce  heat  directly,  and  heat  will  set  atoms  in 
motion,  and  the  ether  too,  giving  us  light,  but  taking 
as  reward  a  great  deal  of  the  energy  exerted.  Now, 
the  electric  arc  of  a  searchlight  produces  a  large 
amount  of  hght  and  heat.  The  light  is  felt  by  the 
eye  at  a  distance  of  many  miles,  but  the  body  is 
not  sensitive  enough  to  be  aware  of  the  heat  emanat- 
ing from  the  same  source.  Mr.  Hayes  has,  however, 
found  the  heat  accompanying  a  searchlight  beam 
quite  sufficient  to  affect  a  mechanical  "nerve"  in  a 
far-away  telephone  receiver. 

The  transmitting  apparatus  is  a  searchlight,  through 
the  back  of  which  run  four  pairs  of  wires  connected 
with  a  telephone  mouthpiece  after  passing  through 
a  switch  and  resistance-box  or  regulator.  The  receiver 
is  a  concave  mirror,  in  the  focus  of  which  is  a  taper- 
ing glass  bulb,  half  filled  with  carbonised  filament  very 
sensitive  to  heat.  The  tapering  end  of  the  bulb  projects 
through  the  back  of  the  mirror  into  an  ear  tube. 

If  a  message  is  to  be  transmitted  the  would-be 
speaker  turns  his  searchlight  in  the  direction  of  the 
person  with  whom  he  wishes  to  converse,  and  makes 
the  proper  signals.  On  seeing  them  the  other  pre- 
sents his  mirror  to  the  beam  and  listens. 

51 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

The  speaker's  voice  takes  control  of  the  searchlight 
beam.  The  louder  the  sound  the  more  brilliantly 
glows  the  electric  arc  ;  the  stronger  becomes  the  beam, 
the  greater  is  the  amount  of  heat  passed  on  to  the 
mirror  and  gathered  on  the  sensitive  bulb.  The  fila- 
ment inside  expands.  The  tapering  point  communi- 
cates the  fact  to  the  earpiece. 

This  operation  being  repeated  many  times  a 
second  the  earpiece  fills  with  sound,  in  which  all 
the  modulations  of  the  far-distant  voice  are  easily 
distinguishable. 

Two  sets  of  the  apparatus  above  described  are 
necessary  for  a  conversation,  the  functions  of  the 
searchlight  and  the  bulb  not  being  reversible.  But 
inasmuch  as  all  large  steamers  carry  searchlights  the 
necessary  installation  may  be  completed  at  a  small 
expense.  Mr.  Hayes'  invention  promises  to  be  a  rival 
to  wireless  telegraphy  over  comparatively  short  dis- 
tances. It  can  be  relied  upon  in  all  weathers,  and 
is  a  fast  method  of  communication.  Like  the  photo- 
phone  it  illustrates  the  inter-relationship  of  the  pheno- 
mena of  Sound,  Light,  and  Heat,  and  the  readiness 
with  which  they  may  be  combined  to  attain  an  end. 

Next  we  turn  from  air  to  earth,  and  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  work  of  Mr.  A.  F.  Collins  of  Phila- 
delphia. This  electrician  merely  makes  use  of  the 
currents  flowing  in  all  directions  through  the  earth, 
and  those  excited  by  an  electric  battery  connected 
with  earth.  The  outfit  requisite  for  sending  wireless 
spoken  messages  consists  of  a  couple  of  convenient 

52 


The  Telephone 


stands,  as  many  storage  batteries,  sets  of  coils,  and 
receiving  and  transmitting  instruments. 

The  action  of  the  transmitter  is  to  send  from 
the  battery  a  series  of  currents  through  the  coils, 
which  transmit  them,  greatly  intensified,  to  the  earth 
by  means  of  a  wire  connected  with  a  buried  wire- 
screen.  The  electric  disturbances  set  up  in  the  earth 
travel  in  all  directions,  and  strike  a  similar  screen 
buried  beneath  the  receiving  instrument,  where  the 
currents  affect  the  dehcate  diaphragm  of  the  tele- 
phone earpiece. 

The  system  is,  in  fact,  upon  all  fours  with  Mr.  Mar- 
coni's, the  distinguishing  feature  being  that  the  ether 
of  the  atmosphere  is  used  in  the  latter  case,  that  of 
the  earth  in  the  former.  The  intensity  coils  are 
common  to  both  ;  the  buried  screens  are  the  counter- 
part of  the  aerial  kites  or  balloons ;  the  telephone 
transmitter  corresponds  to  the  telegraphic  transmit- 
ting key  ;  the  earpiece  to  the  coherer  and  relay.  No 
doubt  in  time  Mr.  Collins  will  ^'  tune  "  his  instruments, 
so  obtaining  below  ground  the  same  sympathetic 
electric  vibrations  which  Mr.  Marconi,  Professor 
Lodge,  or  others  have  employed  to  clothe  their  aerial 
messages  in  secrecy. 


53 


THE    PHONOGRAPH. 

Even  if  Thomas  Edison  had  not  done  wonders  with 
electric  lighting,  telephones,  electric  torpedoes,  new 
processes  for  separating  iron  from  its  ore,  telegraphy, 
animated  photography,  and  other  things  too  nume- 
rous to  mention,  he  would  still  have  made  for  himself 
an  enduring  name  as  the  inventor  of  the  Phonograph. 
He  has  fitly  been  called  the  *'  Wizard  of  the  West " 
from  his  genius  for  conjuring  up  out  of  what  would 
appear  to  the  multitude  most  unpromising  materials 
startling  scientific  marvels,  among  which  none  is  more 
truly  wizard-like  than  the  instrument  that  is  as  recep- 
tive of  sound  as  the  human  ear,  and  of  illimitable 
reproducing  power.  By  virtue  of  its  elfishly  human 
characteristic,  articulate  speech,  it  occupies,  and  always 
will  occupy,  a  very  high  position  as  a  mechanical 
wonder.  When  listening  to  a  telephone  we  are  aware 
of  the  fact  that  the  sounds  are  immediate  reproduc- 
tions of  a  living  person's  voice,  speaking  at  the 
moment  and  at  a  definite  distance  from  us  ;  but  the 
phonographic  utterances  are  those  of  a  voice  perhaps 
stilled  for  ever,  and  the  difference  adds  romance  to 
the  speaking  machine. 

The  Phonograph  was  born  in  1876.     As  we  may 
imagine,  its  appearance  created  a  stir.     A  contributor 

54 


The  Phonograph 


to  the  Times  wrote  in  1877  :  '^  Not  many  weeks  have 
passed  since  we  were  startled  by  the  announce- 
ment that  we  could  converse  audibly  with  each  other, 
although  hundreds  of  miles  apart,  by  means  of  so 
many  miles  of  wire  with  a  little  electric  magnet  at 
each  end. 

**  Another  wonder  is  now  promised  us — an  invention 
purely  mechanical  in  its  nature,  by  means  of  which 
words  spoken  by  the  human  voice  can  be,  so  to  speak^ 
stored  up  and  reproduced  at  will  over  and  over  again 
hundreds,  it  may  be  thousands,  of  times.  What  will 
be  thought  of  a  piece  of  mechanism  by  means  of 
which  a  message  of  any  length  can  be  spoken  on  to  a 
plate  of  metal — that  plate  sent  by  post  to  any  part  of 
the  world  and  the  message  absolutely  respoken  in  the 
very  voice  of  the  sender,  purely  by  mechanical  agency  ? 
What,  too,  shall  be  said  of  a  mere  machine,  by  means 
of  which  the  old  familiar  voice  of  one  who  is  no  longer 
with  us  on  earth  can  be  heard  speaking  to  us  in  the 
very  tones  and  measure  to  which  our  ears  were  once 
accustomed  ?  " 

The  first  Edison  machine  was  the  climax  of  research 
in  the  realm  of  sound.  As  long  ago  as  1856  a  Mr. 
Leo  Scott  made  an  instrument  which  received  the 
formidable  name  of  Phonautograph,  on  account  of  its 
capacity  to  register  mechanically  the  vibrations  set  up 
in  the  atmosphere  by  the  human  voice  or  by  musical 
instruments.  A  large  metal  cone  like  the  mouth  of  an 
ear-trumpet  had  stretched  across  its  smaller  end  a 
membrane,  to  which   was  attached    a   very   delicate 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

tracing-point  working  on  the  surface  of  a  revolving 
cylinder  covered  with  blackened  paper.  Any  sound 
entering  the  trumpet  agitated  the  membrane,  which 
in  turn  moved  the  stylus  and  produced  a  line  on  the 
cylinder  corresponding  to  the  vibration.  Scott's  ap- 
paratus could  only  record.  It  was,  so  to  speak,  the 
first  half  of  the  phonograph.  Edison,  twenty  years 
later,  added  the  active  half.  His  machine,  as  briefly 
described  in  the  TimeSy  was  simple ;  so  very  simple 
that  many  scientists  must  have  wondered  how  they 
failed  to  invent  it  themselves. 

A  metal  cylinder  grooved  with  a  continuous  square- 
section  thread  of  many  turns  to  the  inch  was  mounted 
horizontally  on  a  long  axle  cut  at  one  end  with  a 
screw-thread  of  the  same  ''pitch"  as  that  on  the 
cylinder.  The  axle,  working  in  upright  supports,  and 
furnished  with  a  heavy  fly-wheel  to  render  the  rate  of 
revolution  fairly  uniform,  was  turned  by  a  handle. 
Over  the  grooved  cylinder  was  stretched  a  thin  sheet 
of  tinfoil,  and  on  this  rested  lightly  a  steel  tracing- 
point,  mounted  at  the  end  of  a  spring  and  separated 
from  a  vibrating  diaphragm  by  a  small  pad  of  rubber 
tubing.  A  large  mouthpiece  to  concentrate  sound  on 
to  the  diaphragm  completed  the  apparatus. 

To  make  a  record  with  this  machine  the  cylinder 
was  moved  along  until  the  tracing-point  touched  one 
extremity  of  the  foil.  The  person  speaking  into  the 
mouthpiece  turned  the  handle  to  bring  a  fresh  sur- 
face of  foil  continuously  under  the  point,  which,  owing 
to  the  thread  on  the  axle  and  the  groove  on  the 

56 


-<^  S:  ^ 


^   i^   %j 
o    -o    ~ 


2  =:  u 

CO    ^ 


t' 


Q-i  ;^  xTj 


f5 


■^ 


'^ 


The  Phonograph 


cylinder  being  of  the  same  pitch,  was  always  over  the 
groove,  and  burnished  the  foil  down  into  it  to  a 
greater  or  less  depth  according  to  the  strength  of  the 
impulses  received  from  the  diaphragm. 

The  record  being  finished,  the  point  was  lifted  off 
the  foil,  the  cylinder  turned  back  to  its  original 
position,  and  the  point  allowed  to  run  again  over  the 
depressions  it  had  made  in  the  metal  sheet.  The  latter 
now  became  the  active  part,  imparting  to  the  air  by 
means  of  the  diaphragm  vibrations  similar  in  duration 
and  quality  to  those  that  affected  it  when  the  record 
was  being  made. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  the  phonograph  prin- 
ciple was  originally  employed  by  Edison  as  a  tele- 
phone ''relay."  His  attention  had  been  drawn  to  the 
telephone  recently  produced  by  Graham  Bell,  and  to 
the  evil  effects  of  current  leakage  in  long  lines.  He 
saw  that  the  amount  of  current  wasted  increased  out 
of  proportion  to  the  length  of  the  lines — even  more 
than  in  the  proportion  of  the  squares  of  their  lengths 
— and  he  hoped  that  a  great  saving  of  current  would 
be  effected  if  a  long  line  were  divided  into  sections 
and  the  sound  vibrations  were  passed  from  one  to  the 
other  by  mechanical  means.  He  used  as  the  connect- 
ing link  between  two  sections  a  strip  of  moistened 
paper,  which  a  needle,  attached  to  a  receiver,  indented 
with  minute  depressions,  that  handed  on  the  message 
to  another  telephone.  The  phonograph  proper,  as  a 
recording  machine,  was  an  after-thought. 

Edison's  first  apparatus,  besides  being  heavy  and 

57 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

clumsy,  had  in  practice  faults  which  made  it  fall  short 
of  the  description  given  in  the  Times,  Its  tone  was 
harsh.  The  records,  so  far  from  enduring  a  thousand 
repetitions,  were  worn  out  by  a  dozen.  To  these  de- 
fects must  be  added  a  considerable  difficulty  in  adjust- 
ing a  record  made  on  one  machine  to  the  cylinder  of 
another  machine. 

Edison,  being  busy  with  his  telephone  and  electric 
lamp  work,  put  aside  the  phonograph  for  a  time. 
Graham  Bell,  his  brother,  Chichester  Bell,  and 
Charles  Sumner  Tainter,  developed  and  improved 
his  crude  ideas.  They  introduced  the  Graphophone, 
using  easily  removable  cylinder  records.  For  the 
tinfoil  was  substituted  a  thin  coating  of  a  special 
wax  preparation  on  light  paper  cylinders.  Clock- 
work-driven motors  replaced  the  hand  motion,  and 
the  new  machines  were  altogether  more  handy  and 
effective.  As  soon  as  he  had  time  Edison  again 
entered  the  field.  He  conceived  the  solid  wax 
cylinder,  and  patented  a  small  shaving  apparatus  by 
means  of  which  a  record  could  be  pared  away  and 
a  fresh  surface  be  presented  for  a  new  record. 

The  phonograph  or  graphophone  of  to-day  is  a 
familiar  enough  sight ;  but  inasmuch  as  our  readers 
may  be  less  intimately  acquainted  with  its  construction 
and  action  than  with  its  effects,  a  few  words  will  now 
be  added  about  its  most  striking  features. 

In  the  first  place,  the  record  remains  stationary 
while  the  trumpet,  diaphragm  and  stylus  pass  over  it. 
The  reverse  was  the  case  with  the  tinfoil  instrument, 

58 


The  Phonograph 


The  record  is  cut  by  means  of  a  tiny  sapphire 
point  having  a  circular  concave  end  very  sharp  at 
the  edges,  to  gouge  minute  depressions  into  the  wax. 
The  point  is  agitated  by  a  delicate  combination  of 
weights  and  levers  connecting  it  with  a  diaphragm  of 
French  glass  yj^  inch  thick.  The  reproducing  point 
is  a  sapphire  ball  of  a  diameter  equal  to  that  of  the 
gouge.  It  passes  over  the  depressions,  falling  into 
them  in  turn  and  communicating  its  movements  to 
a  diaphragm,  and  so  tenderly  does  it  treat  the  records 
that  a  hundred  repetitions  do  not  inflict  noticeable 
damage. 

It  is  a  curious  instance  of  the  manner  in  which 
man  unconsciously  copies  nature  that  the  parts  of 
the  reproducing  attachment  of  a  phonograph  con- 
tains parts  corresponding  in  function  exactly  to  those 
bones  of  the  ear  known  as  the  Hammer,  Anvil,  and 
Stirrup. 

To  understand  the  inner  working  of  the  phono- 
graph the  reader  must  be  acquainted  with  the  theory  of 
sound.  All  sound  is  the  result  of  impulses  transmitted 
by  a  moving  body  usually  reaching  the  ear  through 
the  medium  of  the  air.  The  quantity  of  the  sound, 
or  loudness,  depends  on  the  violence  of  the  impulse  ; 
the  tone,  or  note,  on  the  number  of  impulses  in  a 
given  time  (usually  fixed  as  one  second) ;  and  the 
quality,  or  timbrey  as  musicians  say,  on  the  existence 
of  minor  vibrations  within  the  main  ones. 

If  we  were  to  examine  the  surface  of  a  phono- 
graph   record    (or    phonogram)    under    a    powerful 

59 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

magnifying  glass  we  should  see  a  series  of  scoops 
cut  by  the  gouge  in  the  wax,  some  longer  and 
deeper  than  others,  long  and  short,  deep  and 
shallow,  alternating  and  recurring  in  regular  groups. 
The  depth,  length,  and  grouping  of  the  cuts  decides 
the  nature  of  the  resultant  note  when  the  reproducing 
sapphire  point  passes  over  the  record — at  a  rate  of 
about  ten  inches  a  second. 

The  study  of  a  tracing  made  on  properly  pre- 
pared paper  by  a  point  agitated  by  a  diaphragm 
would  enable  us  to  understand  easily  the  cause  of 
that  mysterious  variation  in  timbre  which  betrays 
at  once  what  kind  of  instrument  has  emitted  a  note 
of  known  pitch.  For  instance,  let  us  take  middle  C, 
which  is  the  result  of  a  certain  number  of  atmos- 
pheric blows  per  second  on  the  drum  of  the  ear. 
The  same  note  may  come  from  a  piano,  a  violin, 
a  banjo,  a  man's  larynx,  an  organ,  or  a  cornet ; 
but  we  at  once  detect  its  source.  It  is  scarcely 
imaginable  that  a  piano  and  a  cornet  should  be 
mistaken  for  one  another.  Now,  if  the  tracing 
instrument  had  been  at  work  while  the  notes 
were  made  successively  it  would  have  recorded  a 
wavy  line,  each  wave  of  exactly  the  same  length 
as  its  fellows,  but  varying  in  its  outline  according 
to  the  character  of  the  note's  origin.  We  should 
notice  that  the  waves  were  themselves  wavy  in 
section,  being  jagged  like  the  teeth  of  a  saw,  and 
that  the  small  secondary  waves  differed  in  size. 

The  minor  waves  are  the  harmonics  of  the  main 

60 


The  Phonograph 


note.  Some  musical  instruments  are  richer  in  these 
harmonics  than  others.  The  fact  that  these  delicate 
variations  are  recorded  as  minute  indentations  in 
the  wax  and  reproduced  is  a  striking  proof  of  the 
phonograph's  mechanical  perfection. 

Furthermore,  the  phonograph  registers  not  only 
these  composite  notes,  but  also  chords  or  simul- 
taneous combinations  of  notes,  each  of  which  may 
proceed  from  a  different  instrument.  In  its  action 
it  here  resembles  a  man  who  by  constant  practice 
is  able  to  add  up  the  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence 
columns  in  his  ledger  at  the  same  time,  one  wave 
system  overlapping  and  blending  with  another. 

The  phonograph  is  not  equally  sympathetic  with 
all  classes  of  sounds.  Banjo  duets  make  good  records, 
but  the  guitar  gives  a  poor  result.  Similarly,  the 
cornet  is  peculiarly  effective,  but  the  bass  drum  dis- 
appointing. The  deep  chest  notes  of  a  man  come 
from  the  trumpet  with  startling  truth,  but  the  top 
notes  on  which  the  soprano  prides  herself  are  often 
sadly  **  tinny."  The  phonograph,  therefore,  even  in 
its  most  perfect  form  is  not  the  equal  of  the  ex- 
quisitely sensitive  human  ear ;  and  this  may  partially 
be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  diaphragm  in  both 
recorder  and  reproducer  has  its  own  fundamental  note 
which  is  not  in  harmony  with  all  other  notes,  whereas 
the  ear,  like  the  eye,  adapts  itself  to  any  vibration. 

Yet  the  phonograph  has  an  almost  limitless  reper- 
toire. It  can  justly  be  claimed  for  it  that  it  is  many 
musical  instruments  rolled  into  one.     It  will  repro- 

6i 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

duce  clearly  and  faithfully  an  orchestra,  an  instru- 
mental soloist,  the  words  of  a  singer,  a  stump  orator, 
or  a  stage  favourite.  Consequently  we  find  it  every- 
where— at  entertainments,  in  the  drawing-room,  and 
even  tempting  us  at  the  railway  station  or  other  places 
of  public  resort  to  part  with  our  superfluous  pence. 
At  the  London  Hippodrome  it  discourses  to  audiences 
of  several  thousand  persons,  and  in  the  nursery  it 
delights  the  possessors  of  ingeniously  -  constructed 
dolls  which,  on  a  button  being  pressed  and  concealed 
machinery  being  brought  into  action,  repeat  some 
well-known  childish  melody. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  phonograph  is 
nothing  more  than  a  superior  kind  of  scientij&c  toy. 
More  serious  duties  than  those  of  mere  entertainment 
have  been  found  for  it. 

At  the  last  Presidential  Election  in  the  States  the 
phonograph  was  often  called  upon  to  harangue  large 
meetings  in  the  interests  of  the  rival  candidates,  who 
were  perhaps  at  the  time  wearing  out  their  voices 
hundreds  of  miles  away  with  the  same  words. 

Since  the  pronunciation  of  a  foreign  language  is 
acquired  by  constant  imitation  of  sounds,  the  phono- 
graph, instructed  by  an  expert,  has  been  used  to 
repeat  words  and  phrases  to  a  class  of  students  until 
the  difficulties  they  contain  have  been  thoroughly 
mastered.  The  sight  of  such  a  class  hanging  on  the 
lips — or  more  properly  the  trumpet — of  a  phonograph 
gifted  with  the  true  Parisian  accent  may  be  common 
enough  in  the  future. 

62 


The  Phonograph 


As  a  mechanical  secretary  and  substitute  for  the 
shorthand  writer  the  phonograph  has  certainly  passed 
the  experimental  stage.  Its  daily  use  by  some  of  the 
largest  business  establishments  in  the  world  testify 
to  its  value  in  commercial  life.  Many  firms,  especially 
American,  have  invested  heavily  in  establishing  phono- 
graph establishments  to  save  labour  and  final  expense. 
The  manager,  on  arriving  at  his  office  in  the  morning, 
reads  his  letters,  and  as  the  contents  of  each  is  mas- 
tered, dictates  an  ansv/er  to  a  phonograph  cylinder 
which  is  presently  removed  to  the  typewriting  room, 
where  an  assistant,  placing  it  upon  her  phonograph 
and  fixing  the  tubes  to  her  ears,  types  what  is  required. 
It  is  interesting  to  learn  that  at  Ottawa,  the  seat  of  the 
Canadian  Government,  phonographs  are  used  for  re- 
porting the  parliamentary  proceedings  and  debates. 

There  is  therefore  a  prospect  that,  though  the  talk- 
ing-machine may  lose  its  novelty  as  an  entertainer, 
its  practical  usefulness  will  be  largely  increased.  And 
while  considering  the  future  of  the  instrument,  the 
thought  suggests  itself  whether  we  shall  be  taking  full 
advantage  of  Mr.  Edison's  notable  invention  if  we 
neglect  to  make  records  of  all  kinds  of  intelligible 
sounds  which  have  more  than  a  passing  interest.  If 
the  records  were  made  in  an  imperishable  substance 
they  might  remain  effective  for  centuries,  due  care 
being  taken  of  them  in  special  depositories  owned  by 
the  nation.  To  understand  what  their  value  would 
be  to  future  generations  we  have  only  to  imagine 
ourselves  listening  to  the  long-stilled  thunder  of  Earl 

63 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Chatham,  to  the  golden  eloquence  of  Burke,  or  the 
passionate  declamations  of  Mrs.  Siddons.  And  in  the 
narrower  circle  of  family  interests  how  valuable  a 
part  of  family  heirlooms  would  be  the  phonograms 
containing  a  vocal  message  to  posterity  from  Grand- 
father this,  or  Great-aunt  that,  whose  portraits  in  the 
drawing-room  album  do  little  more  than  call  attention 
to  the  changes  in  dress  since  the  time  when  their 
subjects  faced  the  camera  I 

Record-Making  and  Manufacture.  —  Phonographic 
records  are  of  two  shapes,  the  cylindrical  and  the 
flat,  the  latter  cut  with  a  volute  groove  continuously 
diminishing  in  diameter  from  the  circumference  to 
the  centre.  Flat  records  are  used  in  the  Gramophone 
— a  reproducing  machine  only.  Their  manufacture 
is  effected  by  first  of  all  making  a  record  on  a  sheet 
of  zinc  coated  with  a  very  thin  film  of  wax,  from 
which  the  sharp  steel  point  moved  by  the  recording 
diaphragm  removes  small  portions,  baring  the  zinc 
underneath.  The  plate  is  then  flooded  with  an  acid 
solution,  which  eats  into  the  bared  patches,  but  does 
not  affect  the  parts  still  covered  with  wax.  The  etch- 
ing complete,  the  wax  is  removed  entirely,  and  a  cast 
or  electrotype  negative  record  made  from  the  zinc 
plate.  The  indentations  of  the  original  are  in  this 
represented  by  excrescences  of  like  size ;  and  when 
the  negative  block  is  pressed  hard  down  on  to  a 
properly  prepared  disc  of  vulcanite  or  celluloid,  the 
latter  is  indented  in  a  manner  that  reproduces  exactly 
the  tones  received  on  the  ''  master  "  record. 

64 


The  Phonograph 


Cylindrical  records  are  made  in  two  ways,  by 
moulding  or  by  copying.  The  second  process  is  ex- 
tremely simple.  The  '^ master"  cylinder  is  placed 
on  a  machine  which  also  rotates  a  blank  cylinder 
at  a  short  distance  from  and  parallel  to  the  first.  Over 
the  *' master"  record  passes  a  reproducing  point, 
which  is  connected  by  delicate  levers  to  a  cutting 
point  resting  on  the  "  blank,"  so  that  every  movement 
of  the  one  produces  a  corresponding  movement  of  the 
other. 

This  method,  though  accurate  in  its  results,  is  com- 
paratively slow.  The  moulding  process  is  therefore 
becoming  the  more  general  of  the  two.  Edison  has 
recently  introduced  a  most  beautiful  process  for  ob- 
taining negative  moulds  from  wax  positives.  Owing 
to  its  shape,  a  zinc  cylinder  could  not  be  treated  like 
a  flat  disc,  as,  the  negative  made,  it  could  not  be 
detached  without  cutting.  Edison,  therefore,  with 
characteristic  perseverance,  sought  a  way  of  electro- 
typing  the  wax,  which,  being  a  non-conductor  of 
electricity,  would  not  receive  a  deposit  of  metal.  The 
problem  was  how  to  deposit  on  it. 

Any  one  who  has  seen  a  Crookes*  tube  such  as 
is  used  for  X-ray  work  may  have  noticed  on  the  glass 
a  black  deposit  which  arises  from  the  flinging  off  from 
the  negative  pole  of  minute  particles  of  platinum. 
Edison  took  advantage  of  this  repellent  action  ;  and 
by  enclosing  his  wax  records  in  a  vacuum  between 
two  gold  poles  was  able  to  coat  them  with  an  in- 
finitesimally  thin  skin  of  pure  gold,  on  which  silver 

65  E 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

or  nickel  could  be  easily  deposited.  The  deposit 
being  sufficiently  thick  the  wax  was  melted  out  and 
the  surface  of  the  electrotype  carefully  cleaned.  To 
make  castings  it  was  necessary  only  to  pour  in  wax, 
which  on  cooling  would  shrink  sufficiently  to  be 
withdrawn.  The  delicacy  of  the  process  may  be 
deduced  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  sibilants, 
or  hissing  sounds  of  the  voice,  are  computed  to  be 
represented  by  depressions  less  than  a  millionth  of 
an  inch  in  depth,  and  yet  they  are  most  distinctly 
reproduced !  Cylinder  records  are  made  in  two 
sizes,  2|  and  5  inches  in  diameter  respectively.  The 
larger  size  gives  the  most  satisfactory  renderings,  as 
the  indentations  are  on  a  larger  scale  and  therefore 
less  worn  by  the  reproducing  point.  One  hundred 
turns  to  the  inch  is  the  standard  pitch  of  the  thread  ; 
but  in  some  records  the  number  is  doubled. 

Phonographs,  Graphophones,  and  Gramophones  are 
manufactured  almost  entirely  in  America,  where  large 
factories,  equipped  with  most  perfect  plant  and  tools, 
work  day  and  night  to  cope  with  the  orders  that  flow 
in  freely  from  all  sides.  One  factory  alone  turns  out 
a  thousand  machines  a  day,  ranging  in  value  from 
a  few  shillings  to  forty  pounds  each.  Records  are 
made  in  England  on  a  large  scale ;  and  now  that 
the  Edison-Bell  firm  has  introduced  the  unbreakable 
celluloid  form  their  price  will  decrease.  By  means 
of  the  Edison  electrotyping  process  a  customer  can 
change  his  record  without  changing  his  cylinder.  He 
takes  the  cylinder  to  the  factory,  where  it  is  heated, 

06 


The  Photographophone 

placed  in  the  mould,  and  subjected  to  great  pressure 
which  drives  the  soft  celluloid  into  the  mould  de- 
pressions ;  and  behold  !  in  a  few  moments  "  Auld 
Lang  Syne"  has  become  *' Home,  Sweet  Home,"  or 
whatever  air  is  desired.  Thus  altering  records  is  very 
little  more  difficult  than  getting  a  fresh  book  at  the 
circulating  library. 


The  Photographophone. 

This  instrument  is  a  phonograph  working  entirely 
by  means  of  light  and  electricity. 

The  flame  of  an  electric  lamp  is  brought  under  the 
influence  of  sound  vibrations  which  cause  its  brilliancy 
to  vary  at  every  alteration  of  pitch  or  quality. 

The  light  of  the  flame  is  concentrated  through  a 
lens  on  to  a  travelling  photographic  sensitive  film, 
which,  on  development  in  the  ordinary  way,  is  found 
to  be  covered  with  dark  and  bright  stripes  propor- 
tionate in  tone  to  the  strength  of  the  light  at  different 
moments.  The  film  is  then  passed  between  a  lamp 
and  a  selenium  plate  connected  with  an  electric  cir- 
cuit and  a  telephone.  The  resistance  of  the  selenium 
to  the  current  varies  according  to  the  power  of  the 
light  thrown  upon  it.  When  a  dark  portion  of  the 
film  intercepts  the  light  of  the  lamp  the  selenium 
plate  offers  high  resistance  ;  when  the  light  finds  its 
way  through  a  clear  part  of  the  film  the  resistance 
weakens.  Thus  the  telephone  is  submitted  to  a  series 
of  changes  affecting  the  '^  receiver."     As  in  the  making 

67 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

of  the  record  speech-vibrations  affect  nght,  and  the 
light  affects  a  sensitive  film ;  so  in  its  reproduction 
the  film  affects  a  sensitive  selenium  plate,  giving 
back  to  a  telephone  exactly  what  it  received  from  the 
sound  vibrations. 

One  great  advantage  of  Mr.  Ruhmer's  method  is 
that  from  a  single  film  any  number  of  records  can 
be  printed  by  photography ;  another,  that,  as  with 
the  Telegraphone  (see  below),  the  same  film  passed 
before  a  series  of  lamps  successively  is  able  to  operate 
a  corresponding  number  of  telephones. 

The  inventor  is  not  content  with  his  success.  He 
hopes  to  record  not  merely  sounds  but  even  pictures 
by  means  of  light  and  a  selenium  plate. 

The  Telephonograph. 

Having  dealt  with  the  phonograph  and  the  tele- 
phone separately,  we  may  briefly  consider  one  or  two 
ingenious  combinations  of  the  two  instruments.  The 
word  Telephonograph  signifies  an  apparatus  for  re- 
cording sounds  sent  from  a  distance.  It  takes  the 
place  of  the  human  listener  at  the  telephone  receiver. 

Let  us  suppose  that  a  Reading  subscriber  wishes  to 
converse  along  the  wires  with  a  friend  in  London,  but" 
that  on  ringing  up  his  number  he  discovers  that  the 
friend  is  absent  from  his  home  or  office.  He  is  left  with 
the  alternative  of  either  waiting  till  his  friend  returns, 
which  may  cause  a  serious  loss  of  time,  or  of  dictating 
his  message,  a  slow  and  laborious  process.    This  with 

68 


The  Telephonograph 

the  ordinary  telephonic  apparatus.  But  if  the  London 
friend  be  the  possessor  of  a  Telephonograph,  the 
person  answering  the  call-bell  can,  if  desired  to  do  so, 
switch  the  wires  into  connection  with  it  and  start  the 
machinery ;  and  in  a  very  short  time  the  message  will 
be  stored  up  for  reproduction  when  the  absent  friend 
returns. 

The  Telephonograph  is  the  invention  of  Mr.  ].  E.  O. 
Kumberg.  The  message  is  spoken  into  the  telephone 
transmitter  in  the  ordinary  way,  and  the  vibrations  set 
up  by  the  voice  are  caused  to  act  upon  a  recording 
stylus  by  the  impact  of  the  sound  waves  at  the  further 
end  of  the  wires.  In  this  manner  a  phonogram  is 
produced  on  the  wax  cylinder  in  the  house  or  office 
of  the  person  addressed,  and  it  may  be  read  off  at 
leisure.  A  very  sensitive  transmitter  is  employed,  and 
if  desired  the  apparatus  can  be  so  arranged  that  by 
means  of  a  double-channel  tube  the  words  spoken 
are  simultaneously  conveyed  to  the  telephone  and  to 
an  ordinary  phonograph,  which  insures  that  a  record 
shall  be  kept  of  any  message  sent. 

The  Telegrapkone,  produced  by  Mr.  Valdemar  Poul- 
sen,  performs  the  same  functions  as  the  telephono- 
graph, but  differs  from  it  in  being  entirely  electrical. 
It  contains  no  waxen  cylinder,  no  cutting-point ;  their 
places  are  taken  respectively  by  a  steel  wire  wound  on 
a  cylindrical  drum  (each  turn  carefully  insulated  from 
its  neighbours)  and  by  a  very  small  electro-magnet, 
which  has  two  delicate  points  that  pass  along  the  wire, 
one  on  either  side,  resting  lightly  upon  it. 

69 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

As  the  drum  rotates,  the  whole  of  the  wire  passes 
gradually  between  the  two  points,  into  which  a  series 
of  electric  shocks  is  sent  by  the  action  of  the  speaker's 
voice  at  the  further  end  of  the  wires.  The  shocks 
magnetise  the  portion  of  steel  wire  which  acts  as  a 
temporary  bridge  between  the  two  points.  At  the 
close  of  three  and  a  half  minutes  the  magnet  has 
worked  from  one  end  of  the  wire  coil  to  the  other ;  it 
is  then  automatically  lifted  and  carried  back  to  the 
starting-point  in  readiness  for  reproduction  of  the 
sounds.  This  is  accomplished  by  disconnecting  the 
telegraphone  from  the  telephone  wires  and  switching 
it  on  to  an  ordinary  telephonic  earpiece  or  receiver. 
As  soon  as  the  cylinder  commences  to  revolve  a 
second  time,  the  magnet  is  influenced  by  the  series  of 
magnetic  '* fields"  in  the  wires,  and  as  often  as  it 
touches  a  magnetised  spot  imparts  an  impulse  to  the 
diaphragm  of  the  receiver,  which  vibrates  at  the  rate 
and  with  the  same  force  as  the  vibrations  originally 
set  up  in  the  distant  transmitter.  The  result  is  a 
clear  and  accurate  reproduction  of  the  message, 
even  though  hours  and  even  days  may  have  elapsed 
since  its  arrival. 

As  the  magnetic  effects  on  the  wire  coil  retain  their 
power  for  a  considerable  period,  the  message  may 
be  reproduced  many  times.  As  soon  as  the  wire- 
covered  drum  is  required  for  fresh  impressions,  the 
old  one  is  wiped  out  by  passing  a  permanent  magnet 
along  the  wire  to  neutralise  the  magnetism  of  the  last 
message. 

70 


The  Telephonograph 

Mr.  Poulsen  has  made  an  instrument  of  a  different 
type  to  be  employed  for  the  reception  of  an  unusually 
lengthy  communication.  Instead  of  a  wire  coil  on  a 
cylinder,  a  ribbon  of  very  thin  flat  steel  spring  is 
wound  from  one  reel  on  to  another  across  the  poles 
of  two  electro-magnets,  which  touch  the  lower  side 
only  of  the  strip.  The  first  magnet  is  traversed  by  a 
continuous  current  to  eiTace  the  previous  record  ;  the 
second  magnetises  the  strip  in  obedience  to  impulses 
from  the  telephone  wires.  The  message  complete,  the 
strip  is  run  back,  and  the  magnets  connected  with 
receivers,  which  give  out  loud  and  intelligent  speech 
as  the  strip  again  traverses  them.  The  Poulsen 
machine  makes  the  transmission  of  the  same  message 
simultaneously  through  several  telephones  an  easy 
matter,  as  the  strip  can  be  passed  over  a  series  of 
electro-magnets  each  connected  with  a  telephone. 


71 


THE    TELAUTOGRAPH. 

It  is  a  curious  experience  to  watch  for  the  first  time 
the  movements  of  a  tiny  Telautograph  pen  as  it  works 
behind  a  glass  window  in  a  japanned  case.  The  pen, 
though  connected  only  with  two  delicate  wires,  ap- 
pears instinct  with  human  reason.  It  writes  in  a 
flowing  hand,  just  as  a  man  writes.  At  the  end  of  a 
word  it  crosses  the  t's  and  dots  the  i's.  At  the  end 
of  a  line  it  dips  itself  in  an  inkpot.  It  punctuates  its 
sentences  correctly.  It  illustrates  its  words  with 
sketches.  It  uses  shorthand  as  readily  as  longhand. 
It  can  form  letters  of  all  shapes  and  sizes. 

And  yet  there  is  no  visible  reason  why  it  should  do 
what  it  does.  The  japanned  case  hides  the  guiding 
agency,  whatever  it  may  be.  Our  ears  cannot  detect 
any  mechanical  motion.  The  writing  seems  at  first 
sight  as  mysterious  as  that  which  appeared  on  the 
wall  to  warn  King  Belshazzar. 

In  reality  it  is  the  outcome  of  a  vast  amount  of 
patience  and  mechanical  ingenuity  culminating  in  a 
wonderful  instrument  called  the  Telautograph.  The 
Telautograph  is  so  named  because  by  its  aid  we  can 
send  our  autographs,  ue,  our  own  particular  hand- 
writing, electrically  over  an  indefinite  length  of  wire, 
as  easily  as  a  telegraph  clerk  transmits  messages  in 

72 


By  kitid  permission  of] 


[The  Telautograph  Co. 


The  Telautograph.     The  upper  portion   is  the  Receii'er,  the  loivcr  {with   cover 

removed)  is  the  Transmitter. 

[To  face  p.  72. 


The  Telautograph 


the  Morse  alphabet.  Whatever  the  human  hand 
does  on  one  telautograph  at  one  end  of  the  wires, 
that  will  be  reproduced  by  a  similar  machine  at  the 
other  end,  though  the  latter  be  hundreds  of  miles 
away. 

The  instrument  stands  about  eighteen  inches  high, 
and  its  base  is  as  many  inches  square.  It  falls  into  two 
parts,  the  receiver  and  the  transmitter.  The  receiver 
is  vertical  and  forms  the  upright  and  back  portion  of 
the  telautograph.  At  one  side  of  it  hangs  an  ordinary 
telephone  attachment.  The  transmitter,  a  sloping 
desk  placed  conveniently  for  the  hand,  is  the  front 
and  horizontal  portion.  The  receiver  of  one  station 
is  connected  with  the  transmitter  of  another  station ; 
there  being  ordinarily  no  direct  communication  be- 
tween the  two  parts  of  the  same  instrument. 

An  attempt  will  be  made  to  explain,  with  the  help 
of  a  simple  diagram,  the  manner  in  which  the  telauto- 
graph performs  its  duties. 

These  duties  are  threefold.  In  the  first  place,  it 
must  reproduce  whatever  is  written  on  the  transmitter. 
Secondly,  it  must  reproduce  only  what  is  written^  not 
all  the  movements  of  the  hand.  Thirdly,  it  must 
supply  the  recording  pen  with  fresh  paper  to  write 
on,  and  with  fresh  ink  to  write  with. 

In  our  diagram  we  must  imagine  that  all  the  cover- 
ings of  the  telautograph  have  been  cleared  away  to 
lay  bare  the  most  essential  parts  of  the  mechanism. 
For  the  sake  of  simplicity  not  all  the  coils,  wires,  and 
magnets   having   functions  of   their   own   are   repre- 

73 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

sented,  and  the  drawing  is  not  to  scale.  But  what 
is  shown  will  enable  the  reader  to  grasp  the  general 
principles  which  work  the  machine. 

Turning  first  of  all  to  the  transmitter,  we  have  P, 
a  little  platform  hinged  at  the  back  end,  and  moving 
up  and  down  very  slightly  in  front,  according  as 
pressure  is  put  on  to  or  taken  off  it  by  the  pencil. 
Across  it  a  roll  of  paper  is  shifted  by  means  of  the 
lever  S,  which  has  other  uses  as  well.  To  the  right 
of  P  is  an  electric  bell-push,  E,  and  on  the  left  K, 
another  small  button. 

The  pencil  is  at  the  junction  of  two  small  bars  CC, 
which  are  hinged  at  their  other  end  to  the  levers  AA'. 
Any  motion  of  the  pencil  is  transmitted  by  CC  to 
AA',  and  by  them  to  the  arms  LL',  the  extremities 
of  which,  two  very  small  brushes  ZZ\  sweep  along 
the  quadrants  RR'.  This  is  the  first  point  to  observe, 
that  the  position  of  the  pencil  decides  on  which  sec- 
tions of  the  quadrants  these  little  brushes  rest,  and 
consequently  how  much  current  is  to  be  sent  to  the 
distant  station.  The  quadrants  are  known  technically 
as  rheostats,  or  current-controllers.  Each  quadrant 
is  divided  into  496  parts,  separated  from  each  other 
by  insulating  materials,  so  that  current  can  pass  from 
one  to  the  other  only  by  means  of  some  connecting 
wire.  In  our  illustration  only  thirteen  divisions  are 
given,  for  the  sake  of  clearness.  The  dark  lines 
represent  the  insulation.  WW  are  the  very  fine 
wire  loops  connecting  each  division  of  the  quadrant 
with   its  neighbours.      If   then   a   current   from  the 

74 


THE      TELAUTOGRAPH 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

battery  B  enters  the  rheostat  at  division  i  it  will 
have  to  pass  through  all  these  wires  before  it  can 
reach  division  13.  The  current  always  enters  at  i, 
but  the  point  of  departure  from  the  rheostat  de- 
pends entirely  upon  the  position  of  the  brushes  Z 
or  Z'.  If  Z  happens  to  be  on  No.  6  the  current  will 
pass  through  five  loops  of  wire,  along  the  arm  L,  and 
so  through  the  main  wire  to  the  receiving  station ;  if 
on  No.  13,  through  twelve  loops. 

Before  going  any  further  we  must  have  clear  ideas 
on  the  subject  of  electrical  resistance,  upon  which 
the  whole  system  of  the  telautograph  is  built  up. 
Electricity  resembles  water  in  its  objection  to  flow 
through  small  passages.  It  is  much  harder  to  pump 
water  through  a  half-inch  pipe  than  through  a  one- 
inch  pipe,  and  the  longer  the  pipe  is,  whatever  its 
bore,  the  more  work  is  required.  So  then,  two 
things  affect  resistance — size  of  pipe  or  wire,  and 
length  of  pipe  or  wire. 

The  wires  WW  are  very  fine,  and  offer  very  high 
resistance  to  a  current ;  so  high  that  by  the  time  the 
current  from  battery  B  has  passed  through  all  the 
wire  loops  only  one-fifteenth  or  less  of  the  original 
force  is  left  to  traverse  the  long-distance  wire. 

The  rheostats  act  independently  of  one  another. 
As  the  pencil  moves  over  the  transmitting  paper,  a 
succession  of  currents  of  varying  intensity  is  sent  off 
by  each  rheostat  to  the  receiving  station. 

The  receiver,  to  which  we  must  now  pay  attention, 
has  two  arms  DD',  and  two  rods  FF',  corresponding 

76 


,A^lv»  X  ,  I 


>,« 


^\\ 


%   /  r/ 


> 


By  kind  permission  of\  \The  Telautograph  Co. 

An  example  of  the  work  done  by  the  Telautograph.  The  upper 
sketch  shows  a  design  drawn  on  the  trausmittcr ;  the  lower 
is  the  same  design  as  reproduced  by  the  receiving  instrument, 
many  miles  distant. 

\To  face  p.  76. 


The  Telautograph 

in  size  with  AA'  and  CC  of  the  transmitter.  The 
arms  DD'  are  moved  up  and  down  by  the  coils  TV, 
which  turn  on  centres  in  circular  spaces  at  the  bend 
of  the  magnets  MM'.  The  position  of  these  coils 
relatively  to  the  magnets  depend  on  the  strength  of 
the  currents  coming  from  the  transmitting  station. 
Each  coil  strains  at  a  small  spiral  spring  until  it  has 
reached  the  position  in  which  its  electric  force  is 
balanced  by  the  retarding  influence  of  the  spring. 
One  of  the  cleverest  things  in  the  telautograph  is  the 
adjustment  of  these  coils  so  that  they  shall  follow  faith- 
fully the  motions  of  the  rods  LV  in  the  transmitter. 

We  are  now  able  to  trace  the  actions  of  sending 
a  message.  The  sender  first  presses  the  button  E 
to  call  the  attention  of  some  one  at  the  receiving 
station  to  the  fact  that  a  message  is  coming,  either 
on  the  telephone  or  on  the  paper.  It  should  be 
remarked,  by-the-bye,  that  the  same  wires  serve  for 
both  telephone  and  telautograph,  the  unhooking  of 
the  telephone  throwing  the  telautograph  out  of  con- 
nection for  the  time. 

He  then  presses  the  lever  S  towards  the  left,  bring- 
ing his  transmitter  into  connection  with  the  distant 
receiver,  and  also  moving  a  fresh  length  of  paper  on 
to  the  platform  P.  With  his  pencil  he  writes  his  mes- 
sage, pressing  firmly  on  the  paper,  so  that  the  plat- 
form may  bear  down  against  an  electric  contact,  X. 
As  the  pencil  moves  about  the  paper  the  arms  CC 
are  constantly  changing  their  angles,  and  the  brushes 
ZZ'  are  passing  along  the  segments  of  the  rheostats. 

77 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Currents  flow  in  varying  intensity  away  to  the  coils 
TT'  and  work  the  arms  DD',  the  wires  FF',  and  the 
pen,  a  tiny  glass  tube. 

In  the  perfectly  regulated  telautograph  the  arms 
AA'  and  the  arms  DD'  will  move  in  unison,  and  con- 
sequently the  position  of  the  pen  must  be  the  same 
from  moment  to  moment  as  that  of  the  pencil. 

Mr.  Foster  Ritchie,  the  clever  inventor  of  this  tel- 
autograph, had  to  provide  for  many  things  besides 
mere  slavish  imitation  of  movement.  As  has  been 
stated  above,  the  pen  must  record  only  those  move- 
ments of  the  pencil  which  are  essential.  Evid-ently, 
if  while  the  pencil  returns  to  dot  an  i  a  long  line 
were  registered  by  the  pen  corresponding  to  the  path 
of  the  pencil,  confusion  would  soon  ensue  on  the 
receiver  ;  and  instead  of  a  neatly-written  message  we 
should  have  an  illegible  and  puzzling  maze  of  lines. 
Mr.  Ritchie  has  therefore  taken  ingenious  precautions 
against  any  such  mishap.  The  platen  P  on  being 
depressed  by  the  pencil  touches  a  contact,  X,  which 
closes  an  electric  circuit  through  the  long-distance 
wires  and  excites  a  magnet  at  the  receiving  end.  That 
attracts  a  little  arm  and  breaks  another  circuit,  allow- 
ing the  bar  Y  to  fall  close  to  the  paper.  The  wires 
FF'  and  the  pen  are  now  able  to  rest  on  the  paper 
and  trace  characters.  But  as  soon  as  the  platen  P 
rises,  on  the  removal  of  the  pencil  from  the  trans- 
mitting paper,  the  contact  at  X  is  broken,  the  magnet 
at  the  receiver  ceases  to  act,  the  arm  it  attracted 
falls  back  and  sets  up  a  circuit  which  causes  the  bar 

7^ 


The  Telautograph 


to  spring  up  again  and  lift  the  pen.  So  that  unless 
you  are  actually  pressing  the  paper  with  your  pencil, 
the  pen  is  not  marking,  though  it  may  be  moving. 

As  soon  as  a  line  is  finished  a  fresh  surface  of 
paper  is  required  at  both  ends.  The  operator  pushes 
the  lever  S  sideways,  and  effects  the  change  mechani- 
cally at  his  end.  At  the  same  time  a  circuit  is  formed 
which  excites  certain  magnets  at  the  receiver  and 
causes  the  shifting  forward  there  also  of  the  paper, 
and  also  breaks  the  writing  current,  so  that  the  pen 
returns  for  a  moment  to  its  normal  position  of  rest  in 
the  inkpot. 

It  may  be  asked  :  If  the  wires  are  passing  currents 
to  work  the  writing  apparatus,  how  can  they  simul- 
taneously affect  the  lifting-bar,  Y  ?  The  answer  is 
that  currents  of  two  different  kinds  are  used,  a 
direct  current  for  writing,  a  vibratory  current  for 
depressing  the  lifting-bar.  The  direct  current  passes 
from  the  battery  B  through  the  rheostats  RR  along 
the  wires,  through  the  coils  working  the  arms  DD 
and  into  the  earth  at  the  far  end ;  but  the  vibratory 
current,  changing  its  direction  many  times  a  second 
and  so  neutralising  itself,  passes  up  one  wire  and  back 
down  the  other  through  the  lifting-bar  connection 
without  interfering  with  the  direct  current. 

The  message  finished,  the  operator  depresses  with 
the  point  of  his  pencil  the  little  push-key,  K,  and  con- 
nects his  receiver  with  the  distant  transmitter  in  readi- 
ness for  an  answer. 

The  working  speed  of  the  telautograph  is  that  of 

79 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  writer.  If  shorthand  be  employed,  messages  can 
be  transmitted  at  the  rate  of  over  loo  words  per 
imnute.  As  regards  the  range  of  transmission,  suc- 
cessful tests  have  been  made  by  the  postal  authorities 
between  Paris  and  London,  and  also  between  Paris 
and  Lyons.  In  the  latter  case  the  messages  were 
sent  from  Paris  to  Lyons  and  back  directly  to  Paris, 
the  lines  being  connected  at  Lyons,  to  give  a  total 
distance  of  over  650  miles.  There  is  no  reason  why 
much  greater  length  of  line  should  not  be  employed. 

The  telautograph  in  its  earlier  and  imperfect  form 
was  the  work  of  Professor  Elisha  Gray,  who  invented 
the  telephone  almost  simultaneously  with  Professor 
vj  Graham  Bell.  His  telautograph  worked  on  what  is 
known  as  the  step-by-step  principle,  and  was  defective 
in  that  its  speed  was  very  limited.  If  the  operator 
wrote  too  fast  the  receiving  pen  lagged  behind  the 
transmitting  pencil,  and  confusion  resulted.  Accord- 
ingly this  method,  though  ingenious,  was  abandoned, 
and  Mr.  Ritchie  in  his  experiments  looked  about  for 
some  preferable  system,  which  should  be  simpler  and 
at  the  same  time  much  speedier  in  its  action.  After 
four  years  of  hard  work  he  has  brought  the  rheostat 
system,  explained  above,  to  a  pitch  of  perfection 
which  will  be  at  once  appreciated  by  any  one  who 
has  seen  the  writing  done  by  the  instrument. 

The  advantages  of  the  Telautograph  over  the  ordinary 
telegraphy  may  be  briefly  summed  up  as  follows  : — 

Anybody  who  can  write  can  use  it ;  the  need  of 
skilled  operators  is  abolished. 

80 


The  Telautograph 

A  record  is  automatically  kept  of  every  message 
sent. 

The  person  to  whom  the  message  is  sent  need  not 
be  present  at  the  receiver.  He  will  find  the  message 
written  out  on  his  return. 

The  instrument  is  silent  and  so  insures  secrecy. 
An  ordinary  telegraph  may  be  read  by  sound ;  but 
not  the  telautograph. 

It  is  impossible  to  tap  the  wires  unless,  as  is  most 
unlikely,  the  intercepting  party  has  an  instrument  in 
exact  accord  with  the  transmitter. 

It  can  be  used  on  the  same  wires  as  the  ordinary 
telephone,  and  since  a  telephone  is  combined  with 
it,  the  subscriber  has  a  double  means  of  communi- 
cation. For  some  items  of  business  the  telephone 
may  be  used  as  preferable ;  but  in  certain  cases,  the 
telautograph.  A  telephone  message  may  be  heard 
by  other  subscribers ;  it  is  impossible  to  prove  the 
authenticity  of  such  a  message  unless  witnesses  have 
been  present  at  the  transmitting  end  ;  and  the  message 
itself  may  be  misunderstood  by  reason  of  bad  articula- 
tion. But  the  telautograph  preserves  secrecy  while 
preventing  any  misunderstanding.  Anything  written 
by  it  is  for  all  practical  purposes  as  valid  as  a 
letter. 

We  must  not  forget  its  extreme  usefulness  for 
transmitting  sketches.  A  very  simple  diagram  often 
explains  a  thing  better  than  pages  of  letter-press. 
The  telautograph  may  help  in  the  detection  of 
criminals,  a  pictorial  presentment  of   whom  can  by 

8i  F 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

its  means  be  despatched  all  over  the  country  in  a 
very  short  time.  And  in  warfare  an  instrument 
flashing  back  from  the  advance-guard  plans  of  the 
country  and  of  the  enemy's  positions  might  on  occa- 
sion prove  of  the  greatest  importance. 


83 


MODERN    ARTILLERY. 

The  vast  subject  of  artillery  in  its  modern  form,  in- 
cluding under  this  head  for  convenience'  sake  not  only 
heavy  ordnance  but  machine-guns  and  small-arms, 
can  of  necessity  only  be  dealt  with  most  briefly  in 
this  chapter. 

It  may  therefore  be  well  to  take  a  general  survey 
and  to  define  beforehand  any  words  or  phrases  which 
are  used  technically  in  describing  the  various  opera- 
tions. 

The  employment  of  firearms  dates  from  a  long- 
distant  past,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  many 
an  improvement  introduced  during  the  last  century 
is  but  the  revival  of  a  former  invention  which  only 
lack  of  accuracy  in  tools  and  appliances  had 
hitherto  prevented  from  being  brought  into  practical 
usage. 

So  far  back  as  1498  the  art  of  rifling  cannon  in 
straight  grooves  was  known,  and  a  British  patent  was 
taken  out  in  1635  by  Rotsipan.  The  grooves  were 
first  made  spiral  or  screwed  by  Koster  of  Birmingham 
about  1620.  Berlin  possesses  a  rifled  cannon  with 
thirteen  grooves  dated  1664.  But  the  first  recorded 
uses  of  such  weapons  in  actual  warfare  was  during 
Louis  Napoleon's  Italian  campaign  in  1859,  and  two 

83 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

years  later  by  General  James  of  the  United   States 
Army. 

The  system  of  breech-loadingy  again,  is  as  old  as  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  we  find  a  British  patent  of 
1741 ;  while  the  first  United  States  patent  was  given 
in  181 1  for  a  flint-lock  weapon. 

Magazine  guns  of  American  production  appeared  in 
1849  and  i860,  but  these  were  really  an  adaptation  of 
the  old  matchlock  revolvers,  said  to  belong  to  the 
period  1480-1500.  There  is  one  in  the  Tower  of 
London  credited  to  the  fifteenth  century,  and  a 
British  patent  of  1718  describes  a  well-constructed 
revolver  carried  on  a  tripod  and  of  the  dimensions 
of  a  modern  machine-gun.  The  inventor  gravely 
explains  that  he  has  provided  round  chambers  for 
round  bullets  to  shoot  Christians,  and  square  cham- 
bers with  square  missiles  for  use  against  the 
Turks  ! 

The  word  *'  ordnance  "  is  applied  to  heavy  guns  of 
all  kinds,  and  includes  guns  mounted  on  fortresses, 
naval  guns,  siege  artillery,  and  that  for  use  in  the 
field.  These  guns  are  all  mounted  on  stands  or  car- 
riages, and  may  be  divided  into  three  classes : — 
(i.)  Cannofty  or  heavy  guns. 

(ii.)  HowitzerSf  for  field,  mountain,  or  siege  use, 
which  are  lighter  and  shorter  than  cannon,  and 
designed  to  throw  hollow  projectiles  with  compara- 
tively small  charges. 

(iii.)  MortarSy  for  throwing  shells  at  a  great  elevation. 

The  modern  long-range  guns  and  improved  howit- 

84 


Modern  Artillery 

zers  have,  however,  virtually  superseded  mortars. 
Machine-guns  of  various  forms  are  comparatively 
small  and  light,  transportable  by  hand,  and  filling  a 
place  between  cannon  and  small-arms,  the  latter  term 
embracing  the  soldier's  personal  armament  of  rifle 
and  pistol  or  revolver,  which  are  carried  in  the 
hand. 

A  group  of  guns  of  the  like  design  are  generally 
given  the  name  of  their  first  inventor,  or  the  place  of 
manufacture  :  such  as  the  Armstrong  gun,  the  Vickers- 
Maxim,  the  Martini-Henry  rifle,  or  the  Enfield. 

The  indifferent  use  of  several  expressions  in  describ- 
ing the  same  weapon  is,  however,  rather  confusing. 
One  particular  gun  may  be  thus  referred  to  :— by  its 
weight  in  tons  or  cwt.,  as  "the  35-ton  gun";  by  the 
■weight  of  its  projectiky  as  "  a  68-pounder "  ;  by  its 
calibre^  that  is,  size  of  bore,  as  "  the  4-inch  gun."  Of 
these  the  heavier  breech-loading  (B.-L.)  and  quick- 
firing  (Q.-F.)  guns  are  generally  known  by  the  size  of 
bore ;  small  Q.-F.'s,  field-guns,  &c.,  by  the  weight  of 
projectile.  It  is  therefore  desirable  to  enter  these 
particulars  together  when  making  any  list  of  service 
ordnance  for  future  reference. 

No  individual  gun,  whether  large  or  small,  is  a 
single  whole,  but  consists  of  several  pieces  fastened 
together  by  many  clever  devices. 

The  principal  parts  of  a  cannon  are  : — 

(i)  The  chase y  or  main  tube  into  which  the  projectile 
is  loaded  ;  terminating  at  one  end  in  the  muzzle. 

(2)  The  breech'piecey  consisting  of  {a)  the  chamber, 

8s 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

which  is  bored  out  for  a  larger  diameter  than  the  chase 
to  contain  the  firing-charge,  (b)  The  breech- plug^ 
which  is  closed  before  the  charge  is  exploded  and 
screwed  tightly  into  place,  sealing  every  aperture  by 
means  of  a  special  device  called  the  "obturator,"  in 
order  to  prevent  any  gases  passing  out  round  it  instead 
of  helping  to  force  the  projectile  forwards  towards  the 
muzzle. 

The  whole  length  of  inside  tube  is  termed  the 
barrely  as  in  a  machine-gun,  rifle,  or  sporting-piece, 
but  in  the  two  latter  weapons  the  breech-opening 
is  closed  by  sliding  or  springing  back  the  breech- 
block or  bolt  into  firing  position. 

Old  weapons  as  a  rule  were  smooth-bored  (S.-B.), 
firing  a  round  missile  between  which  and  the  barrel 
a  considerable  amount  of  the  gases  generated  by 
the  explosion  escaped  and  caused  loss  of  power,  this 
escape  of  gas  being  known  as  windage. 

In  all  modern  weapons  we  use  conical  projectiles, 
fitted  near  the  base  with  a  soft  copper  driving-band, 
the  diameter  of  which  is  somewhat  larger  than  that 
of  the  bore  of  the  gun,  and  cut  a  number  of  spiral 
grooves  in  the  barrel.  The  enormous  pressure  gene- 
rated by  the  explosion  of  the  charge  forces  the 
projectile  down  the  bore  of  the  gun  and  out  of  the 
muzzle.  The  body  of  the  projectile,  made  of  steel 
or  iron,  being  smaller  in  diameter  than  the  bore, 
easily  passes  through,  but  the  driving-band  being 
of  greater  diameter,  and  being  composed  of  soft 
copper,  can  only  pass  down  the  bore  with  the  pro- 

86 


Modern  Artillery 


jectile  by  flowing  into  the  grooves,  thus  preventing 
any  escape  of  gas,  and  being  forced  to  follow  their 
twist.  It  therefore  rotates  rapidly  upon  its  own 
longitudinal  axis  while  passing  down  the  barrel,  and 
on  leaving  the  muzzle  two  kinds  of  velocity  have 
been  imparted  to  it;  —  first,  a  velocity  of  motion 
through  the  air ;  secondly,  a  velocity  of  rotation 
round  its  axis  which  causes  it  to  fly  steadily  onward 
in  the  required  direction,  i.e»  a  prolongation  of  the 
axis  of  the  gun.  Thus  extreme  velocity  and  pene- 
trating power,  as  well  as  correctness  of  aim,  are 
acquired. 

The  path  of  a  projectile  through  the  air  is  called 
its  trajectoryy  and  if  uninterrupted  its  flight  would 
continue  on  indefinitely  in  a  perfectly  straight  line. 
But  immediately  a  shot  has  been  hurled  from  the 
gun  by  the  explosion  in  its  rear  two  other  natural 
forces  begin  to  act  upon  it : — 

Gravitation,  which  tends  to  bring  it  to  earth. 

Air-resistance,  which  gradually  checks  its  speed, 

(Theoretically,  a  bullet  dropped  perpendicularly 
from  the  muzzle  of  a  perfectly  horizontal  rifle  would 
reach  the  ground  at  the  same  moment  as  another 
bullet  fired  from  the  muzzle  horizontally,  the  action 
of  gravity  being  the  same  in  both  cases.) 

Its  direct,  even  course  is  therefore  deflected  till 
it  forms  a  curve,  and  sooner  or  later  it  returns  to 
earth,  still  retaining  a  part  of  its  velocity.  To 
counteract  the  attraction  of  gravity  the  shot  is  thrown 
upwards  by  elevating  the   muzzle,  care  being  taken 

87 


Ronxance  of  Modern  Invention 

to  direct  the  gun's  action  to  the  same  height  above 
the  object  as  the  force  of  gravitation  would  draw 
the  projectile  down  during  the  time  of  flight.  The 
gunner  is  enabled  to  give  the  proper  inclination  to 
his  piece  by  means  of  the  sights ;  one  of  these,  near 
the  muzzle,  being  generally  fixed,  while  that  next 
the  breech  is  adjustable  by  sliding  up  an  upright 
bar  which  is  so  graduated  that  the  proper  elevation 
for  any  required  range  is  given. 

The  greater  the  velocity  the  flatter  is  the  trajectory, 
and  the  more  dangerous  to  the  enemy.  Assuming 
the  average  height  of  a  man  to  be  six  feet,  all  the 
distance  intervening  between  the  point  where  a 
bullet  has  dropped  to  within  six  feet  of  the  earth, 
and  the  point  where  it  actually  strikes  is  dangerous 
to  any  one  in  that  interval,  which  is  called  the 
*^  danger  zone."  A  higher  initial  velocity  is  gained 
by  using  stronger  firing  charges,  and  a  more  extended 
flight  by  making  the  projectile  longer  in  proportion  to 
its  diameter.  The  reason  why  a  shell  from  a  cannon 
travels  further  than  a  rifle  bullet,  both  having  the 
same  muzzle  velocity,  is  easily  explained. 

A  rifle  bullet  is,  let  us  assume,  three  times  as  long 
as  it  is  thick ;  a  cannon  shell  the  same.  If  the  shell 
have  ten  times  the  diameter  of  the  bullet,  its  ^^  nose  " 
will  have  10x10=100  times  the  area  of  the  bullet's 
nose;  but  its  mass  will  be  10x10x10  =  1000  times 
that  of  the  bullet. 

In  other  words,  when  two  bodies  are  proportional 
in  all  their  dimensions  their  air-resistance  varies   as 

88 


Modern  Artillery 


the  square  of  their  diameters,  but  their  mass  and 
consequently  their  momentum  varies  as  the  cube  of 
their  diameters.  The  shell  therefore  starts  with  a 
great  advantage  over  the  bullet,  and  may  be  compared 
to  a  "  crew  "  of  cyclists  on  a  multicycle  all  cutting  the 
same  path  through  the  air  ;  whereas  the  bullet  re- 
sembles a  single  rider,  who  has  to  overcome  as 
much  air-resistance  as  the  front  man  of  the  ^^  crew  " 
but  has  not  the  weight  of  other  riders  behind  to 
help  him. 

As  regards  the  effect  of  rifling,  it  is  to  keep  the 
bullet  from  turning  head  over  heels  as  it  flies  through 
the  air,  and  to  maintain  it  always  point  forwards. 
Every  boy  knows  that  a  top  *'  sleeps  "  best  when  it 
is  spinning  fast.  Its  horizontal  rotation  overcomes 
a  tendency  to  vertical  movement  towards  the  ground. 
In  like  manner  a  rifle  bullet,  spinning  vertically, 
overcomes  an  inclination  of  its  atoms  to  move  out 
of  their  horizontal  path.  Professor  John  Perry,  F.R.S., 
has  illustrated  this  gyroscopic  effect,  as  it  is  called, 
of  a  whirling  body  with  a  heavy  flywheel  in  a  case, 
held  by  a  man  standing  on  a  pivoted  table.  How- 
ever much  the  man  may  try  to  turn  the  top  from 
its  original  direction  he  will  fail  as  long  as  its  velo- 
city of  rotation  is  high.  He  may  move  the  top 
relatively  to  his  body,  but  the  table  will  turn  so  as 
to  keep  the  centre  line  of  the  top  always  pointing 
in  the  same  direction. 


89 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Rifles, 

Up  to  the  middle  of  last  century  our  soldiers  were 
armed  with  the  flint-lock  musket  known  as  ^' Brown 
Bess/'  a  smooth-bore  barrel  f-inch  in  diameter,  thirty- 
nine  inches  long,  weighing  with  its  bayonet  over 
eleven  pounds.  The  round  leaden  bullet  weighed  an 
ounce,  and  had  to  be  wrapped  in  a  "  patch "  or  bit 
of  oily  rag  to  make  it  fit  the  barrel  and  prevent 
windage ;  it  was  then  pushed  home  with  a  ramrod 
on  to  the  powder-charge,  which  was  ignited  by  a 
spark  passing  from  the  flint  into  a  priming  of  powder. 
How  little  its  accuracy  of  aim  could  be  depended 
upon,  however,  is  proved  by  the  word  of  command 
when  advancing  upon  an  enemy,  ^'Wait  till  you  see 
the  whites  of  their  eyes,  boys,  before  you  fire  ! " 

In  the  year  1680  each  troop  of  Life  Guards  was 
supplied  with  eight  rifled  carbines,  a  modest  allowance, 
possibly  intended  to  be  used  merely  by  those  acting 
as  scouts.  After  this  we  hear  nothing  of  them  until 
in  1800  the  95th  Regiment  received  a  20-bore  muzzle- 
loading  rifle,  exchanged  about  1835  for  the  Brunswick 
rifle  firing  a  spherical  bullet,  an  improvement  that 
more  than  doubled  its  effective  range.  The  com- 
panies so  armed  became  known  as  the  Rifle  Brigade. 
At  last,  in  1842,  the  old  flint-lock  was  superseded  for 
the  whole  army  by  the  original  percussion  musket,  a 
smooth-bore  whose  charge  was  exploded  by  a  per- 
cussion cap  made  of  copper.  [That  this  copper  had 
some  commercial  value  was  shown  by  the  rush  of 

90 


Rifl 


es 


"roughs"  to  Aldershot  and  elsewhere  upon  a  field- 
day  to  collect  the  split  fragments  which  strewed  the 
ground  after  the  troops  had  withdrawn.] 

Soon  afterward  the  barrel  was  rifled  and  an  elon- 
gated bullet  brought  into  use.  This  missile  was 
pointed  in  front,  and  had  a  hollowed  base  so  con- 
trived that  it  expanded  immediately  the  pressure  of 
exploding  gases  was  brought  to  bear  on  it,  and  thus 
filled  up  the  grooves,  preventing  any  windage.  The 
one  adopted  by  our  army  in  the  year  1852  was  the 
production  of  M.  Mini^,  a  Frenchman,  though  an 
expanding  bullet  of  English  invention  had  been 
brought  forward  several  years  before. 

Meanwhile  the  Prussians  had  their  famous  needle- 
gun,  a  breech-loading  rifled  weapon  fired  by  a  needle 
attached  to  a  sliding  bolt ;  as  the  bolt  is  shot  forward 
the  needle  pierces  the  charge  and  ignites  the  fulmi- 
nate by  friction.  This  rifle  was  used  in  the  Prusso- 
Austrian  war  of  1866  some  twenty  years  after  its  first 
inception,  and  the  French  promptly  countered  it  by 
arming  their  troops  with  the  Chassepot  rifle,  an  im- 
proved edition  of  the  same  principle.  A  piece  which 
could  be  charged  and  fired  in  any  position  from  five 
to  seven  times  as  fast  as  the  muzzle-loader,  which  the 
soldier  had  to  load  standing,  naturally  caused  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  infantry  armament  of  other  nations. 

The  English  Government,  as  usual  the  last  to  make 
a  change,  decided  in  1864  upon  using  breech-loading 
rifles.  Till  a  more  perfect  weapon  could  be  obtained 
the  Enfields  were  at  a  small  outlay  converted  into 

91 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

breech-loaders  after  the  plans  of  Mr.  Snider,  and  were 
henceforward  known  as  Snider-Enfields.  Eventually 
— as  the  result  of  open  competition  —  the  Martini- 
Henry  rifle  was  produced  by  combining  Henry's 
system  of  rifling  with  Martini's  mechanism  for  breech- 
loading.  This  weapon  had  seven  grooves  with  one 
turn  in  twenty-two  inches,  and  weighed  with  bayonet 
10  lb.  4  oz.  It  fired  with  great  accuracy,  the  trajectory 
having  a  rise  of  only  eight  feet  at  considerable  dis- 
tances, so  that  the  bullet  would  not  pass  over  the 
head  of  a  cavalry  man.  Twenty  rounds  could  be 
fired  in  fifty-three  seconds. 

Now  in  the  latter  years  of  the  century  all  these 
weapons  have  been  superseded  by  magazine  rifles, 
i,e.  rifles  which  can  be  fired  several  times  without 
recourse  to  the  ammunition  pouch.  They  differ  from 
the  revolver  in  having  only  one  firing  chamber,  into 
which  the  cartridges  are  one  by  one  brought  by  a 
simple  action  of  the  breech  mechanism,  which  also 
extracts  the  empty  cartridge-case.  The  bore  of  these 
rifles  is  smaller  and  the  rifling  sharper  ;  they  therefore 
shoot  straighter  and  harder  than  the  large  bore,  and 
owing  to  the  use  of  new  explosives  the  recoil  is  less. 

The  French  Lebel  magazine  rifle  was  the  pioneer  of 
all  now  used  by  European  nations,  though  a  some- 
what similar  weapon  was  familiar  to  the  Americans 
since  1849,  being  first  used  during  the  Civil  War.  The 
Henry  rifle,  as  it  was  called,  afterwards  became  the 
Winchester. 

The  German  army  rifle  is  the  Mauser^  so  familiar 

92 


Rifles 

to  US  in  the  hands  of  the  Boers  during  the  South 
African  War — loading  five  cartridges  at  once  in  a 
case  or  *'clip"  which  falls  out  when  emptied.  The 
same  rifle  has  been  adopted  by  Turkey,  and  was 
used  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  late  Spanish-American 
War. 

The  Austrian  Mannlichery  adopted  by  several  con- 
tinental nations,  and  the  Krag-Jorgensen  now  used  in 
the  north  of  Europe  and  as  the  United  States  army 
weapon,  resemble  the  Mauser  in  most  particulars. 
Each  of  these  loads  the  magazine  in  one  movement 
with  a  clip. 

The  Hotchkiss  magazine  rifle  has  its  magazine  in  the 
stock,  holding  five  extra  cartridges  pushed  successively 
into  loading  position  by  a  spiral  spring. 

Our  forces  are  now  armed  principally  with  the  Lee- 
Enfieldy  which  is  taking  the  place  of  the  Lee-Metford 
issued  a  few  years  ago.  These  are  small-bore  rifles 
of  .303  inch  calibre,  having  a  detachable  box,  which  is 
loaded  with  ten  cartridges  (Lee-Metford  eight)  passed 
up  in  turn  by  a  spring  into  the  breech,  whence,  when 
the  bolt  is  closed,  they  are  pushed  into  the  firing- 
chamber.  The  empty  case  is  ejected  by  pulling  back 
the  bolt,  and  at  the  same  time  another  cartridge  is 
pressed  up  from  the  magazine  and  the  whole  process 
repeated.  When  the  cut-off  is  used  the  rifle  may 
be  loaded  and  fired  singly,  be  the  magazine  full  or 
empty. 

The  Lee-Enfield  has  five  grooves  (Lee-Metford  ten), 
making  one  complete  turn  from  right  to  left  in  every 

93 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

ten  inches.  It  weighs  9  lb.  4  oz.,  and  the  barrel  is 
3D.197  inches  long.    The  range  averages  3500  yards. 

We  are  now  falling  into  line  with  other  powers  by 
adopting  the  '*  clip  "  form  instead  of  the  box  for  load- 
ing. The  sealed  pattern  of  the  new  service  weapon  is 
thus  provided,  and  has  also  been  made  somewhat 
lighter  and  shorter  while  preserving  the  same  velocity. 

We  are  promised  an  even  more  rapid  firing  rifle 
than  any  of  these,  one  in  which  the  recoil  is  used  to 
work  the  breech  and  lock  so  that  it  is  a  veritable 
automatic  gun.  Indeed,  several  continental  nations 
have  made  trial  of  such  weapons  and  reported  favour- 
ably upon  them.  One  lately  tried  in  Italy  works  by 
means  of  gas  generated  by  the  explosion  passing 
through  a  small  hole  to  move  a  piston-rod.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  magazine  can  hold  as  many  as  fifty 
cartridges  and  fire  up  to  thirty  rounds  a  minute ;  but 
the  barrel  became  so  hot  after  doing  this  that  the  trial 
had  to  be  stopped. 

The  principal  result  of  automatic  action  would  pro- 
bably be  excessive  waste  of  cartridges  by  wild  firing 
in  the  excitement  of  an  engagement.  It  is  to-day  as 
true  as  formerly  that  it  takes  on  the  average  a  man's 
weight  of  lead  to  kill  him  in  battle. 

To  our  neighbours  across  the  Channel  the  credit 
also  belongs  of  introducing  smokeless  powdery  now 
universally  used  ;  that  of  the  Lee-Metford  being  "  cor- 
dite." To  prevent  the  bullets  flattening  on  impact 
they  are  coated  with  a  hard  metal  such  as  nickel  and 
its  alloys.    If  the  nose  is  soft,  or  split  beforehand,  a 

94 


Rifles 

terribly  enlarged  and  lacerated  wound  is  produced ; 
so  the  Geneva  Convention  humanely  prohibited  the 
use  of  such  missiles  in  warfare. 

Before  quitting  this  part  of  our  subject  it  is  as  well 
to  add  a  few  words  about  pistols. 

These  have  passed  through  much  the  same  process 
of  evolution  as  the  rifle,  and  have  now  culminated  in 
the  many-shotted  revolver. 

During  the  period  1480-1500  the  match-lock  re- 
volver is  said  to  have  been  brought  into  use ;  and  one 
attributed  to  this  date  may  be  seen  in  the  Tower  of 
London. 

Two  hundred  years  ago,  Richards,  a  London  gun- 
smith, converted  the  ancient  w^heel-lock  into  the  flint- 
lock ;  he  also  rifled  his  barrel  and  loaded  it  at  the 
breech.  The  Richards  weapon  was  double-barrelled, 
and  unscrewed  for  loading  at  the  point  where  the 
powder-chamber  ended ;  the  ball  was  placed  in  this 
chamber  in  close  contact  with  the  powder,  and  the 
barrel  rescrewed.  The  bullet  being  a  soft  leaden  ball, 
was  forced,  when  the  charge  was  fired,  through  the 
rifled  barrel  with  great  accuracy  of  aim. 

The  percussion  cap  did  not  oust  the  flint-lock  till 
less  than  a  century  ago,  when  many  single-barrelled 
pistols,  such  as  the  famous  Derringer,  were  produced  ; 
these  in  their  turn  were  replaced  by  the  revolver 
which  Colt  introduced  in  1836-1850.  Smith  and 
Wesson  in  the  early  sixties  improved  upon  it  by  a 
device  for  extracting  the  empty  cartridges  automati- 
cally.    Livermore  and  Russell  of  the  United  States 

95 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

invented  the  "  clip,"  containing  several  cartridges ; 
but  the  equally  well-known  Winchester  has  its  car- 
tridges arranged  in  a  tube  below  the  barrel,  whence  a 
helical  spring  feeds  them  to  the  breech  as  fast  as  they 
are  needed. 

At  the  present  time  each  War  Department  has  its 
own  special  service  weapon.  The  German  Mauser 
magazine-pistol  for  officer's  use  fires  ten  shots  in  ten 
seconds,  a  slight  pressure  of  the  trigger  setting  the 
full  machinery  in  motion  ;  the  pressure  of  gas  at  each 
explosion  does  all  the  rest  of  the  work — extracts  and 
ejects  the  cartridge  case,  cocks  the  hammer,  and 
presses  springs  which  reload  and  close  the  weapon,  all 
in  a  fraction  of  a  second.  The  Mannlicher  is  of  the 
same  automatic  type,  but  its  barrel  moves  to  the  front, 
leaving  space  for  a  fresh  cartridge  to  come  up  from 
the  magazine  below,  while  in  the  Mauser  the  breech 
moves  to  the  rear  during  recoil.  The  range  is  half  a 
mile.  The  cartridges  are  made  up  in  sets  of  ten  in  a 
case,  which  can  be  inserted  in  one  movement. 


Machine-Guns. 

Intermediate  between  hand-borne  weapons  and 
artillery,  and  partaking  of  the  nature  of  both,  come 
the  machine-guns  firing  small  projectiles  with  extra- 
ordinary rapidity. 

Since  the  United  States  made  trial  of  Dr.  Gatling's 
miniature  battery  in  the  Civil  War  (1862-1865),  inven- 
tion has  been  busy  evolving  more  and  more  perfect 

96 


Machine-Guns 

types,  till  the  most  modern  machine-gun  is  a  marvel 
of  ingenuity  and  effectiveness. 

The  Gatling  machine-gun,  which  has  been  much 
improved  in  late  years  by  the  Accles  system  of  ''  feed," 
and  is  not  yet  completely  out  of  date,  consists  of  a 
circular  series  of  ten  barrels — each  with  its  own  lock 
— ^mounted  on  a  central  shaft  and  revolved  by  a  suit- 
able gear.  The  cartridges  are  successively  fed  by 
automatic  actions  into  the  barrels,  and  the  hammers 
are  so  arranged  that  the  entire  operation  of  loading, 
closing  the  breech,  firing  and  withdrawing  the  empty 
cartridge-cases  (which  is  known  as  their  ^^  longitudinal 
reciprocating  motion  ")  is  carried  on  while  the  locks 
are  kept  in  constant  revolution,  along  with  the  barrels 
and  breech,  by  means  of  a  hand-crank.  One  man 
places  a  feed-case  filled  with  cartridges  into  the 
hopper,  another  turns  the  crank.  As  the  gun  is 
rotated  the  cartridges  drop  one  by  one  from  the 
feed-cases  into  the  grooves  of  the  carrier,  and  its 
lock  loads  and  fires  each  in  turn.  While  the  gun 
revolves  further  the  lock,  drawing  back,  extracts  and 
drops  the  empty  case ;  it  is  then  ready  for  the  next 
cartridge. 

In  action  five  cartridges  are  always  going  through 
some  process  of  loading,  while  five  empty  shells  are 
in  different  stages  of  ejection.  The  latest  type,  fitted 
with  an  electro-motor,  will  fire  at  the  rate  of  one 
thousand  rounds  per  minute,  and  eighty  rounds  have 
actually  been  fired  within  ten  seconds  !  It  is  not, 
however,  safe  to  work  these  machine-guns  so  fast, 

97  O 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

as  the  cartridges  are  apt  to  be  occasionally  pulled 
through  unfired  and  then  explode  among  the  men's 
legs.  The  automatic  guns,  on  the  contrary,  as  they 
only  work  by  the  explosion,  are  free  from  any  risk  of 
such  accidents. 

The  feed-drums  contain  104  cartridges,  and  can  be 
replaced  almost  instantly.  One  drumful  can  be  dis- 
charged in  5J  seconds.  The  small-sized  Gatling  has 
a  drum-feed  of  400  cartridges  in  sixteen  sections  of 
twenty-five  each  passed  up  without  interruption. 

The  gun  is  mounted  for  use  so  that  it  can  be 
pointed  at  any  angle,  and  through  a  wide  lateral  range, 
without  moving  the  carriage. 

The  Gardner, — The  Gatling,  as  originally  made,  was 
for  a  time  superseded  by  the  Gardner^  which  differed 
from  it  in  having  the  barrels  (four  or  fewer  in  number) 
fixed  in  the  same  horizontal  plane.  This  was  worked 
by  a  rotatory  handle  on  the  side  of  the  gun.  The 
cartridges  slid  down  a  feed-case  in  a  column  to  the 
barrel,  where  they  were  fired  by  a  spring  acting  on  a 
hammer. 

The  Nordenfelt, — Mr.  Nordenfelt's  machine-gun 
follows  this  precedent ;  its  barrels — 10,  5,  4,  2,  or  i 
in  number — also  being  arranged  horizontally  in  a 
strong,  rigid  frame.  Each  barrel  has  its  own  breech- 
plug,  striker,  spring,  and  extractor,  and  each  fires  in- 
dependently of  the  rest,  so  that  all  are  not  out  of  action 
together.  The  gun  has  a  swivelled  mount  easily 
elevated  and  trained,  and  the  steel  frames  take  up  the 
force  of  the  discharge.     In  rapid  firing  one  gunner 

98 


Machlne-Guns 

can  work  the  firing-handle  while  another  lays  and 
alters  the  direction.  The  firing  is  operated  by  a  lever 
working  backwards  and  forwards  by  hand,  and  the 
gun  can  be  discharged  at  the  rate  of  600  rounds  per 
minute. 

The  Hotchkiss, — The  Hotchkiss  gun,  or  revolving 
cannon,  is  on  a  fresh  system,  that  of  intermittent  rota- 
tion of  the  barrels  without  any  rotation  of  breech  or 
mechanism.  There  is  only  one  loading  piston,  one 
spring  striker,  and  one  extractor  for  all  the  barrels. 
The  shock  of  discharge  is  received  against  a  massive 
fixed  breech,  which  distributes  it  to  the  whole  body. 

Like  the  Nordenfelty  however,  it  can  be  dismounted 
and  put  together  again  without  the  need  of  tools. 
The  above  pattern  throws  i  lb.  projectiles. 

The  Maxim. — Differing  from  all  these  comes  the 
Maxim  gun,  so  much  in  evidence  now  with  both  land 
and  sea  service.     It  is  made  up  of  two  portions  : — 

(i)  Fixed:  a  barrel-casing,  which  is  also  a  water- 
jacket,  and  breech-casing. 

(2)  Recoiling:  a  barrel  and  two  side  plates  which 
carry  lock  and  crank. 

This  recoiling  portion  works  inside  the  fixed. 

The  gun  is  supplied  with  ammunition  by  a  belt 
holding  250  cartridges  passing  through  a  feed-block 
on  the  top.  Its  mechanism  is  worked  automatically ; 
first  by  the  explosion  of  the  charge,  which  causes  the 
barrel  to  recoil  backwards  and  extends  a  strong  spring 
which,  on  reasserting  itself,  carries  it  forwards  again. 
The  recoiling  part  moves  back  about  an  inch,  and 

99 


i 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

this  recoil  is  utilised  by  bringing  into  play  mechanism 
which  extracts  the  empty  cartridge-case,  and  on  the 
spring  carrying  the  barrel  forward  again  moves  a 
fresh  one  into  position.  Under  the  barrel  casing  is 
the  ejector  tube  through  which  the  empty  cartridge- 
cases  are  ejected  from  the  gun. 

The  rate  of  fire  of  the  Maxim  gun  is  600  rounds  per 
minute.  Deliberate  fire  means  about  70  rounds  per 
minute  ;  rapid  fire  will  explode  450  rounds  in  the 
same  time.  As  the  barrel  becomes  very  hot  in  use 
the  barrel-casing  contains  seven  pints  of  water  to  keep 
it  cool.  About  2000  rounds  can  be  fired  at  short 
intervals ;  but  in  continuous  firing  the  water  boils 
after  some  600  rounds,  and  needs  replenishing  after 
about  1000.  A  valved  tube  allows  steam,  but  not 
water  to  escape. 

The  operator  works  this  gun  by  pressing  a  firing- 
lever  or  button.  After  starting  the  machine  he  merely 
sits  behind  the  shield,  which  protects  him  from  the 
enemy,  directing  it,  as  it  keeps  on  firing  automatically 
so  long  as  the  bands  of  cartridges  are  supplied  and  a 
finger  held  on  the  trigger  or  button.  By  setting  free 
a  couple  of  levers  with  his  left  hand,  and  pressing  his 
shoulder  against  the  padded  shoulder-piece,  he  is  able 
to  elevate  or  depress,  or  train  the  barrel  horizontally, 
without  in  any  way  interfering  with  the  hail  of 
missiles. 

We  use  two  sizes,  one  with  .45  bore  for  the  Navy, 
which  takes  an  all-lead  bullet  weighing  480  grains,  and 
the  other  with  .303  bore,  the  ordinary  nickel-coated 

100 


Machine-Guns 

rifle  bullet  for  the  Army.  But  as  the  Maxim  gun 
can  be  adapted  to  every  rifle-calibre  ammunition  it  is 
patronised  by  all  governments. 

The  gun  itself  weighs  56  lbs.,  and  is  mounted  for 
use  in  various  ways  :  on  a  tripod,  a  field  stand,  or  a 
field  carriage  with  wheels.  This  carriage  has  sixteen 
boxes  of  ammunition,  each  containing  a  belt  of  250 
cartridges,  making  4000  rounds  altogether.  Its  total 
weight  is  about  half  a  ton,  so  that  it  can  be  drawn  by 
one  horse,  and  it  is  built  for  the  roughest  cross- 
country work.  A  little  machine,  which  can  be  fixed 
to  the  wheel,  recharges  the  belts  with  cartridges  by 
the  working  of  a  handle. 

For  ships  the  Maxim  is  usually  mounted  on  the 
ordinary  naval  cone  mount,  or  it  can  be  clamped  to 
the  bulwark  of  the  deck  or  the  military  "  top  "  on  the 
mast. 

But  there  is  a  most  ingenious  form  of  parapet 
mounting,  known  as  the  garrison  mount,  which  turns 
the  Maxim  into  a  '*  disappearing  gun,"  and  can  be 
used  equally  well  for  fortress  walls  or  improvised 
entrenchments.  The  gun  is  placed  over  two  little 
wheels  on  which  it  can  be  run  along  by  means  of  a 
handle  pushed  behind  in  something  the  fashion  of  a 
lawn-mower.  Arrived  at  its  destination,  the  handle, 
which  is  really  a  rack,  is  turned  downwards,  and  on 
twisting  one  of  the  wheels  the  gun  climbs  it  by  means 
of  a  pinion-cog  till  it  points  over  the  wall,  to  which 
hooks  at  the  end  of  two  projecting  bars  firmly  fix  it, 
the  broadened  end  of  the  handle  being  held  by  its 

10 1 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

weight  to  the  ground.  It  is  locked  while  in  use,  but 
a  few  turns  of  the  wheel  cause  it  to  sink  out  of  sight 
in  as  many  seconds. 

The  rifle-calibre  guns  may  also  be  used  as  very 
light  horse  artillery  to  accompany  cavalry  by  being 
mounted  on  a  ''galloping  carriage"  drawn  by  a 
couple  of  horses,  and  with  two  seats  for  the  operators. 
The  carriage  conveys  3000  rounds,  and  the  steel- 
plated  seats  turn  up  and  form  shields  during  action. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  an  extra  light  form  of 
the  gun  is  made  which  may  be  carried  strapped  on  an 
infantryman's  back  and  fired  from  a  tripod.  Two  of 
these  mounted  on  a  double  tricycle  can  be  propelled 
at  a  good  pace  along  a  fairly  level  road,  and  the 
riders  dismounting  have,  in  a  few  moments,  a  valuable 
little  battery  at  their  disposal. 

The  Pom-pom^  of  which  we  have  heard  so  much  in 
the  late  war,  is  a  large  edition  of  the  Maxim  automatic 
system  with  some  differences  in  the  system.  Its 
calibre  is  ij  inches.  Instead  of  bullets  it  emits 
explosive  shells  i  lb.  in  weight,  fitted  with  percussion 
fuses  which  burst  them  into  about  twelve  or  fourteen 
pieces.  The  effective  range  is  up  to  2000  yards,  and 
it  will  carry  to  4000  yards.  An  improved  Pom-pom 
recently  brought  out  hurls  a  ij  lb.  shell  with  effect 
at  a  mark  3000  yards  away,  and  as  far  as  6000  yards 
before  its  energy  is  entirely  exhausted.  The  muzzle 
velocity  of  this  weapon  is  2350  feet  a  second  as 
against  the  1800  feet  of  the  older  pattern.  They  both 
fire  300  rounds  a  minute, 

102 


Machine-Guns 

The  Colt  automatic  gun  is  an  American  invention 
whose  automatic  action  is  due  to  explosion  of  the 
charge,  not  to  recoil.  The  force  by  which  the 
motions  of  firing,  extracting,  and  loading  are 
performed  is  derived  from  the  powder-gases,  a 
portion  of  which — passing  through  a  small  vent  in 
the  muzzle — acts  by  means  of  a  lever  on  the  mechan- 
ism of  the  gun. 

This  is  also  in  two  parts  :  {a)  barrely  attached  to 
(Jj)  breech-casing,  in  which  gear  for  charging,  firing, 
and  ejecting  is  contained.  The  barrel,  made  of  a 
strong  alloy  of  nickel,  has  its  cartridges  fed  in  by 
means  of  belts  coiled  in  boxes  attached  to  the  breech- 
casing,  the  boxes  moving  with  the  latter  so  that  the 
movements  of  the  gun  do  not  affect  it.  These  boxes 
contain  250  cartridges  each  and  are  easily  replaced. 

The  feed-belt  is  inserted,  and  the  lever  thrown 
down  and  moved  backward — once  by  hand — as  far 
as  it  will  go  ;  this  opens  the  breech  and  passes  the 
first  cartridge  from  the  belt  to  the  carrier.  The  lever 
is  then  released  and  the  spring  causes  it  to  fly 
forward,  close  the  vent,  and  transfer  the  cartridge 
from  the  carrier  to  the  barrel,  also  compressing  the 
mainspring  and  opening  and  closing  the  breech. 

On  pulling  the  trigger  the  shot  is  fired,  and  after 
the  bullet  has  passed  the  little  vent,  but  is  not  yet  out 
of  the  muzzle,  the  force  of  the  expanding  gas,  acting 
through  the  vent  on  the  piston,  sets  a  gas-lever  in 
operation  which  acts  on  the  breech  mechanism,  opens 
breech,  ejects  cartridge-case,  and  feeds  another  cart- 

103 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

ridge  into  the  carrier.  The  gas-lever  returning  forces 
the  cartridge  home  in  the  barrel  and  closes  and  locks 
the  breech. 

The  hammer  of  the  gun  acts  as  the  piston  of  an 
air-pump,  forcing  a  strong  jet  of  air  into  the  chamber, 
and  through  the  barrel,  thus  removing  all  unburnt 
powder,  and  thoroughly  cleansing  it.  The  metal 
employed  is  strong  enough  to  resist  the  heaviest 
charge  of  nitro-powder,  and  the  accuracy  of  its  aim  is 
not  disturbed  by  the  vibrations  of  rapid  fire.  It  does 
not  heat  fast,  so  has  no  need  of  a  water-jacket,  any 
surplus  heat  being  removed  by  a  system  of  radiation. 

The  bore  is  made  of  any  rifle  calibre  for  any  small- 
arm  ammunition,  and  is  fitted  wnth  a  safety-lock.  For 
our  own  pieces  we  use  the  Lee-Metford  cartridges. 
Four  hundred  shots  per  minute  can  be  fired. 

The  gun  consists  altogether  of  ninety-four  pieces, 
but  the  working-pieces,  i,e,  those  only  which  need 
be  separated  for  cleaning,  &c.,  when  in  the  hands 
of  the  artilleryman,  are  less  than  twenty.  It  can  be 
handled  in  action  by  one  man,  the  operation  resem- 
bling that  of  firing  a  pistol. 

The  machine  weighs  40  lbs.,  and  for  use  by  cavalry 
or  infantry  can  be  mounted  on  the  Dundonald  Gallop- 
ing Carriage,  The  ammunition-box,  containing  2000 
rounds  ready  for  use,  carries  the  gun  on  its  upper 
side,  and  is  mounted  on  a  strong  steel  axle.  A  pole 
with  a  slotted  end  is  inserted  into  a  revolving  funnel 
on  the  bend  of  the  shaft,  the  limbering-up  being 
completed  by  an  automatic  bolt  and  plug. 

104 


Heavy  Ordnance 

The  gun-carriage  itself  is  of  steel,  with  hickory 
wheels  and  hickory  and  steel  shafts,  detachable  at 
will.  The  simple  harness  suits  any  saddled  cavalry 
horse,  and  the  shafts  work  in  sockets  behind  the 
rider's  legs.  Its  whole  weight  with  full  load  of 
ammunition  is  under  four  hundredweight. 


Heavy  Ordnance. 

As  with  rifles  and  the  smaller  forms  of  artillery,  so 
also  with  heavy  ordnance,  the  changes  and  improve- 
ments within  the  last  fifty  years  have  been  greater 
than  those  made  during  the  course  of  all  the  previous 
centuries. 

These  changes  have  affected  alike  not  only  the 
materials  from  which  a  weapon  is  manufactured,  the 
relative  size  of  calibre  and  length  of  bore,  the  fashion 
of  mounting  and  firing,  but  also  the  form  and  weight 
of  the  projectile,  the  velocity  with  which  it  is  thrown, 
and  even  the  substances  used  in  expelling  it  from 
the  gun. 

Compare  for  a  moment  the  old  cast-iron  muzzle- 
loaders,  stubby  of  stature,  which  Wellington's  bronzed 
veterans  served  with  round  cannon  balls,  well  packed 
in  greasy  clouts  to  make  them  fit  tight,  or  with  shell 
and  grape  shot,  throughout  the  hard-fought  day  of 
Waterloo,  from  a  distance  which  the  chroniclers 
measure  by  paces^  so  near  stood  the  opposing  ranks 
to  one  another. 

Or  stand  in   imagination   upon    one   of    Nelson's 

105 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

stately  men-o'-war  and  watch  the  grimy  guns'  crews, 
eight  or  ten  to  each,  straining  on  the  ropes.  See  the 
still  smoking  piece  hauled  inboard,  its  bore  swabbed 
out  to  clean  and  cool  it,  then  recharged  by  the 
muzzle ;  home  go  powder,  wad,  and  the  castor  full 
of  balls  or  the  chain  shot  to  splinter  the  enemy's 
masts,  rammed  well  down  ere  the  gun  is  again  run 
out  through  the  port-hole.  Now  the  gunner  snatches 
the  flaming  lintstock  and,  signal  given,  applies  it  to 
the  powder  grains  sprinkled  in  the  touch-hole.  A 
salvo  of  fifty  starboard  guns  goes  off  m  one  terrific 
broadside,  crashing  across  the  Frenchman's  decks 
at  such  close  quarters  that  in  two  or  three  places 
they  are  set  on  fire  by  the  burning  wads.  Next  comes 
a  cry  of  "  Boarders  1 '  and  the  ships  are  grappled 
as  the  boarding-party  scrambles  over  the  bulwarks 
to  the  enemy's  deck,  a  brisk  musket-fire  from  the 
crowded  rigging  protecting  their  advance ;  mean- 
while the  larboard  guns,  with  their  simultaneous  dis- 
charge, are  greeting  a  new  adversary. 

Such  was  war  a  century  ago.  Compare  with  it 
the  late  South  African  Campaign  where  the  range 
of  guns  was  estimated  in  miles^  and  after  a  combat 
lasting  from  morn  to  eve,  the  British  general  could 
report :  ^'  I  do  not  think  we  have  seen  a  gun  or  a 
Boer  all  day." 

The  days  of  hand-to-hand  fighting  have  passed,  the 
mel6e  in  the  ranks  may  be  seen  no  more ;  in  a  few 
years  the  bayonet  may  be  relegated  to  the  limbo  of 
the  coat-of-raail  or  the  cast-iron  culverin.     Yet  the 

1 06 


Heavy  Ordnance 

modern  battle-scene  bristles  with  the  most  death- 
dealing  weapons  which  the  ingenuity  of  man  has 
ever  constructed.  The  hand-drawn  machine-gun 
discharges  in  a  couple  of  minutes  as  many  missiles 
as  a  regiment  of  Wellington's  infantry,  with  a  speed 
and  precision  undreamt  of  by  him.  The  quick-firing 
long-range  naval  guns  now  in  vogue  could  annihilate 
a  fleet  or  destroy  a  port  without  approaching  close 
enough  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  personnel  of  their 
opponents.  The  deadly  torpedo  guards  our  water- 
ways more  effectually  than  a  squadron  of  ships. 

All  resources  of  civilisation  have  been  drawn  upon, 
every  triumph  of  engineering  secured,  to  forge  such 
weapons  as  shall  strike  the  hardest  and  destroy  the 
most  pitilessly.  But  strange  and  unexpected  the 
result !  Where  we  counted  our  battle-slain  by  thou- 
sands we  now  mourn  over  the  death  of  hundreds ; 
where  whole  regiments  were  mown  down  our  am- 
bulances gather  wounded  in  scattered  units.  Here 
is  the  bright  side  of  modern  war. 

The  muzzle-loading  gun  has  had  its  day,  a  very  long 
day  and  a  successful  one.  Again  and  again  it  has  re- 
asserted itself  and  ousted  its  rivals,  but  at  last  all 
difficulties  of  construction  have  been  surmounted 
and  the  breech-loader  has  *'come  to  stay." 

However,  our  services  still  contain  a  large  number 
of  muzzle-loading  guns,  many  of  them  built  at  quite 
a  recent  period,  and  adapted  as  far  as  possible  to 
modern  requirements.  So  to  these  we  wdll  first  turn 
our  attention. 

107 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

The  earliest  guns  were  made  of  cast-iron,  but  this 
being  prone  to  burst  with  a  krge  charge,  bronze, 
brass,  and  other  tougher  materials  were  for  a  long 
time  employed.  Most  elaborately  chased  and  orna- 
mented specimens  of  these  old  weapons  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  Tower,  and  many  other  collections. 

In  the  utilitarian  days  of  the  past  century  cheapness 
and  speed  in  manufacture  were  more  sought  after 
than  show.  Iron  was  worked  in  many  new  ways  to 
resist  the  pressure  of  explosion. 

Armstrong  of  Elswick  conceived  the  idea  of  build- 
ing up  a  barrel  of  coiled  iron  by  joining  a  series  of 
short  welded  cylinders  together,  and  closing  them 
by  a  solid  forged  breech-piece.  Over  all,  again, 
wrought-iron  coils  were  shrunk.  Subsequently  he 
tried  a  solid  forged-iron  barrel  bored  out  to  form 
a  tube.  Neither  make  proving  very  satisfactory,  steel 
tubes  were  next  used,  but  were  too  expensive  and 
uncertain  at  that  stage  of  manufacture.  Again  coiled 
iron  was  called  into  requisition,  and  Mr.  Frazer  of 
the  Royal  Gun  Factory  introduced  a  system  of  double 
and  triple  coils  which  was  found  very  successful, 
especially  when  a  thin  steel  inner  tube  was  substi- 
tuted for  the  iron  one  (1869). 

All  these  weapons  were  rifled,  so  that  there  was 
of  necessity  a  corresponding  difference  in  the  pro- 
jectile employed.  Conical  shells  being  used,  studs 
were  now  placed  on  the  body  of  the  shell  to  fit  into 
the  rifling  grooves,  which  were  made  few  in  number 
and  deeply  cut.    This  was  apt  to  weaken  the  bore  of 

108 


Heavy  Ordnance 


the  gun ;  but  on  the  other  hand  many  studs  to  fit 
into  several  shallow  grooves  weakened  the  cover  of 
the  shells. 

Various  modifications  were  tried,  and  finally  a  gas- 
check  which  expands  into  the  grooves  was  placed  at 
the  base  of  the  shell. 

The  muzzle-loader  having  thus  been  turned  into 
a  very  efficient  modern  weapon  the  next  problem  to 
be  solved  was  how  to  throw  a  projectile  with  sufficient 
force  to  penetrate  the  iron  and  steel  armour-plates 
then  being  generally  appHed  to  war-ships.  *'  Build 
larger  guns  "  was  the  conclusion  arrived  at,  and  pre- 
sently the  arsenals  of  the  Powers  were  turning  out 
mammoth  weapons  up  to  loo  tons,  and  even  no 
tons  in  weight  with  a  calibre  of  i6  inches  and  more 
for  their  huge  shells.  Then  was  the  mighty  35-ton 
"Woolwich  Infant"  born  (1872),  and  its  younger  but 
still  bigger  brothers,  81  tons,  16-inch  bore,  followed 
by  the  Elswick  100-ton  giants,  some  of  which  were 
mounted  on  our  defences  in  the  Mediterranean.  But 
the  fearful  concussion  of  such  enormous  guns  when 
fixed  in  action  on  board  ship  injured  the  superstruc- 
tion,  and  even  destroyed  the  boats,  and  the  great 
improvements  made  in  steel  both  for  guns  and 
armour  soon  led  to  a  fresh  revolution.  Hencefor- 
ward instead  of  mounting  a  few  very  heavy  guns 
we  have  preferred  to  trust  to  the  weight  of  metal 
projected  by  an  increased  number  of  smaller  size, 
but  much  higher  velocity.  And  these  guns  are  the 
quick-firing  breech-loaders. 

109 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

The  heaviest  of  our  up-to-date  ordnance  is  of 
moderate  calibre,  the  largest  breech  -  loaders  being 
i2-inch,  lo-inch,  and  9.2-inch  guns.  But  the 
elaborateness  of  its  manufacture  is  such  that  one 
big  gun  takes  nearly  as  long  to  ''build  up"  as  the 
ship  for  which  it  is  destined.  Each  weapon  has  to 
pass  through  about  sixteen  different  processes  : — 

(i)  The  solid  (or  hollow)  ingot  \^  forged, 

(2)  Annealed^  to  get  rid  of  strains. 

(3)  It  is  placed  horizontally  on  a  lathe  and  rough- 
turned. 

(4)  Rough-bored  in  a  lathe. 

(5)  Hardened,  Heated  to  a  high  temperature  and 
plunged,  while  hot,  into  a  bath  of  rape  oil  kept  cold 
by  a  water-bath.  It  cools  slowly  for  seven  to  eight 
hours,  being  moved  about  at  intervals  by  a  crane. 
This  makes  the  steel  more  elastic  and  tenacious. 

(6)  Annealedy  i,e,  reheated  to  900°  Fahr.  and  slowly 
cooled.    Siemens'  pyrometer  is  used  in  these  operations. 

(7)  Tested  by  pieces  cut  off. 

(8)  Turned  and  bored  for  the  second  time. 

(9)  Carefully  turned  again  for  shrinkage.  Outer 
coil  expanded  till  large  enough  to  fit  easily  over  inner. 
Inside,  set  up  vertically  in  a  pit,  has  outside  lowered 
on  to  it,  water  and  gas  being  applied  to  make  all 
shrink  evenly.  Other  projections,  hoops,  rings,  &c., 
also  shrunk  on. 

(10)  Finish — bored  and  chambered, 

(11)  Broached^  or  very  fine  bored,  perhaps  lapped 
with  lead  and  emery. 

no 


Heavy  Ordnance 

(12)  -^2}?^^  horizontally  in  a  machine. 

(13)  Prepared  for  breech  fittings. 

(14)  Taken  to  the  Proof  Butts  for  trial. 

(15)  Drilled  for  sockets,  sights,  &c.  Lined  and 
engraved.  Breech  fittings,  locks,  electric  firing  gear, 
&c.,  added.     Small  adjustments  made  by  filing. 

(16)  Browned  ox  painted. 

When  worn  the  bore  can  be  lined  with  a  new  steel  tube. 

These  lengthy  operations  completed,  our  gun  has 
still  to  be  mounted  upon  its  field- carriage,  naval  cone, 
or  disappearing  mounting,  any  of  which  are  compli- 
cated and  delicately-adjusted  pieces  of  mechanism, 
the  product  of  much  time  and  labour,  which  we  have 
no  space  here  to  describe. 

Some  account  of  the  principal  parts  of  these  guns 
has  already  been  given,  but  the  method  by  which  the 
breech  is  closed  remains  to  be  dealt  with. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  though  guns  now  barely  reach 
half  the  weight  of  the  monster  muzzle-loaders,  they 
are  even  more  effective.  Thus  the  46-ton  (12-inch) 
gun  hurls  an  850-lb.  projectile  with  a  velocity  of  2750 
foot-seconds,  and  uses  a  comparatively  small  charge. 
The  famous  *'  81-ton  "  needed  a  very  big  charge  for  its 
1700-lb.  shell,  and  had  little  more  than  half  the  velo- 
city and  no  such  power  of  penetration.  This  change 
has  been  brought  about  by  using  a  slower-burning 
explosive  very  powerful  in  its  effects ;  enlarging  the 
chamber  to  give  it  sufficient  air  space,  and  lengthening 
the  chase  of  the  gun  so  that  every  particle  of  the 
powder-gas  may  be  brought  into  action  before  the 

1 1 1 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

shot  leaves  the  muzzle.  This  system  and  the  substi- 
tution of  steel  for  the  many  layers  of  welded  iron, 
makes  our  modern  guns  long  and  slim  in  comparison 
with  the  older  ones. 

To  resist  the  pressure  of  the  explosion  against  the 
breech  end,  a  tightly-fitting  breech-plug  must  be  em- 
ployed. The  most  modern  and  ingenious  is  the  Welin 
plug,  invented  by  a  Swedish  engineer.  The  ordinary 
interrupted  screw  breech-plug  has  three  parts  of 
its  circumference  plane  and  the  other  three  parts 
"  threaded,"  or  grooved,  to  screw  into  corresponding 
grooves  in  the  breech ;  thus  only  half  of  the  circum- 
ference is  engaged  by  the  screw.  Mr.  Welin  has  cut 
steps  on  the  plug,  three  of  which  would  be  threaded 
to  one  plane  segment,  each  locking  with  its  counter- 
part in  the  breech.  In  this  case  there  are  three 
segments  engaged  to  each  one  left  plane,  and  the 
strength  of  the  screw  is  almost  irresistible.  The 
plug,  which  is  hinged  at  the  side,  has  therefore  been 
shortened  by  one-third,  and  is  light  enough  to  swing 
clear  with  one  touch  of  the  handwheel  that  first 
rotates  and  unlocks  it. 

The  method  of  firing  is  this  :  The  projectile  lifted 
(by  hydraulic  power  on  a  ship)  into  the  loading  tray 
is  swung  to  the  mouth  of  the  breech  and  pushed  into 
the  bore.  A  driving-band  attached  near  its  base  is 
so  notched  at  the  edges  that  it  jams  the  shell  closely 
and  prevents  it  slipping  back  if  loaded  at  a  high  angle 
of  elevation.  The  powder  charge  being  placed  in  the 
chamber  the  breech-plug  is  now  swung-to  and  turned 

112 


Heavy  Ordnance 

till  it  locks  close.  The  vent-axial  or  inner  part  of  this 
breech-plug  (next  to  the  charge),  which  is  called  from 
its  shape  the  ^^  mushroom-head,"  encloses  between  its 
head  and  the  screw-plug  the  de  Bange  obturator,  a 
flat  canvas  pad  of  many  layers  soaked  with  mutton  fat 
tightly  packed  between  discs  of  tin.  When  the  charge 
explodes,  the  mushroom-head — forced  back  upon  the 
pad — compresses  it  till  its  edges  bulge  against  the  tube 
and  prevent  any  escape  of  gas  breechwards. 

The  electric  spark  which  fires  the  charge  is  passed 
in  from  outside  by  means  of  a  minute  and  ingenious 
apparatus  fitted  into  a  little  vent  or  tube  in  the 
mushroom-head.  As  the  electric  circuit  cannot  be 
completed  till  the  breech-plug  is  screwed  quite  home 
there  is  now  no  more  fear  of  a  premature  explosion 
than  of  double  loading.  If  the  electric  gear  is  dis- 
ordered the  gun  can  be  fired  equally  well  and  safely 
by  a  percussion  tube. 

This  description  is  of  a  typical  large  gun,  and  may 
be  applied  to  all  calibres  and  also  to  the  larger  quick- 
firers.  The  mechanism  as  the  breech  is  swung  open 
again  withdraws  the  empty  cartridge.  So  valuable 
has'  de  Range's  obturator  proved,  however,  that  guns 
up  to  the  6-inch  calibre  now  have  the  powder  charge 
thrown  into  the  chamber  in  bags,  thus  saving  the 
weight  of  the  metal  tubes  hitherto  necessary. 

Of  course  several  types  of  breech-loading  guns  are 
used.in  the  Service,  but  the  above  are  the  most  modern. 

The  favourite  mode  of  construction  at  the  present 
time  is  the  wire-wound  barrel,  the   building  up   of 

113  H 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 


which  is  completed  by  covering  the  many  layers 
of  wire  with  an  outer  tube  or  jacket  expanded  by 
heat  before  it  is  slipped  on  in  order  that  it  may  fit 
closely  when  cold.  A  previous  make,  without  wire,  is 
strengthened  by  rings  or  hoops  also  shrunk  on  hot. 

The  quick-firers  proper  are  of  many  sizes,  8-inch, 
7.5-inch,  6-inch,  4.7-inch,  4-inch,  and  3-inch  (12- 
pounders).  The  naval  type  is  as  a  rule  longer  and 
lighter  than  those  made  for  the  rough  usage  of  field 
campaigning  and  hav^  a  much  greater  range.  There  are 
also  smaller  quick-firers,  3-pounders  and  6-pounders 
with  bore  something  over  i-inch  and  2-inch  (Norden- 
felt,  Hotchkiss,  Vickers-Maxim).  Some  of  the  high 
velocity  12 -pounders  being  employed  as  garrison 
guns  along  with  6-inch  and  4.7-inch,  and  the  large 
calibre  howitzers. 

We  still  use  howitzer  batteries  of  5-inch  bore  in  the 
field  and  in  the  siege-train,  all  being  short,  rifled, 
breech-loading  weapons,  as  they  throw  a  heavy  shell 
with  smallish  charges  at  a  high  angle  of  elevation, 
but  cover  a  relatively  short  distance.  A  new  pattern 
of  8-inch  calibre  is  now  under  consideration. 

It  is  interesting  to  contrast  the  potencies  of  some 
of  these  guns,  all  of  which  use  cordite  charges. 


Weight  of 
Shot. 

Muzzle  Velocity 

Number  of 

Calibre. 

Charge. 

in 

Rounds  per 

Foot  Seconds. 

Minuta 

12  inch 

207  lbs. 

850  lbs. 

2750 

I 

8     „ 

52    » 

210    „ 

2750 

5 

6     „ 

25    ., 

100    „ 

2775 

8 

47    M 

9  » 

45    » 

2600 

12 

3    >. 

2  lbs.  9  oz. 

12.5  „ 

2600 

20 

114 


Heavy  Ordnance 


In  the  armament  of  our  fine  Navy  guns  are  roughly 
distributed  as  follows  : — 8i-ton,  i3j-inch,  and  super- 
seded patterns  of  machine-guns  such  as  Catling's 
Gardner's,  and  Nordenfelt's,  besides  a  few  surviving 
muzzle-loaders,  &c.,  are  carried  only  by  the  oldest 
battleships. 

The  first-class  battleships  are  chiefly  supplied  with 
four  1 2-inch  guns  in  barbettes,  twelve  6-inch  as 
secondary  batteries,  and  a  number  of  smaller  quick- 
firers  on  the  upper  decks  and  in  the  fighting  tops,  also 
for  use  in  the  boats,  to  which  are  added  several  Maxims. 

The  first-class  cruisers  have  9.2  as  their  largest 
calibre,  with  a  lessened  proportion  of  6-inch,  &c. 
Some  of  the  newest  bear  only  7J  or  6-inch  guns  as 
their  heaviest  ordnance  ;  like  the  second-class  cruisers 
which,  however,  add  several  4.7's  between  these  and 
their  small  quick-firers. 

Vessels  of  inferior  size  usually  carry  nothing  more 
powerful  than  the  4.7. 

All  are  now  armed  with  torpedo  tubes. 

These  same  useful  little  quick-firers  and  machine- 
guns  have  been  the  lethal  weapons  which  made  the 
armoured  trains  so  formidable.  Indeed,  there  seems 
no  limit  to  their  value  both  for  offence  and  defence, 
for  the  battle  chariot  of  the  ancient  Briton  has  its 
modern  successor  in  the  Simms'  motor  war  car  lately 
exhibited  at  the  Crystal  Palace.  This  armour-plated 
movable  fort  is  intended  primarily  for  coast  defence, 
but  can  work  off  beaten  tracks  over  almost  any  sort 
of  country.     It  is  propelled  at  the  rate  of  nine  miles 

115 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

an  hour  by  a  i6-horse-power  motor,  carrying  all  its 
own  fuel,  two  pom-poms,  two  small  Maxims,  and 
10,000  rounds  of  ammunition,  besides  the  necessary 
complement  of  men  and  searchlights  for  night  use, 
&€.,  &c. 

The  searchlight,  by  the  way,  has  taken  the  place  of 
all  former  inventions  thrown  from  guns,  such  as 
ground-light  balls,  or  parachute  lights  with  a  time-fuse 
which  burst  in  the  air  and  remained  suspended,  be- 
traying the  enemy's  proceedings. 

In  like  manner  the  linked  chain  and  ^Mouble- 
headed  "  shot,  the  "  canister  " — iron  balls  packed  in 
thin  iron  or  tin  cylinders  which  would  travel  about 
350  yards — the  ^^ carcasses"  filled  with  inflammable 
composition  for  firing  ships  and  villages,  are  as  much 
out  of  date  as  the  solid  round  shot  or  cannon-ball. 
Young  Shrapnell's  invention  a  century  ago  of  the 
form  of  shell  that  bears  his  name,  a  number  of  balls 
arranged  in  a  case  containing  also  a  small  bursting- 
charge  fired  either  by  percussion  or  by  a  time-fuse,  has 
practically  replaced  them  all.  Thrown  with  great 
precision  of  aim  its  effective  range  is  now  up  to  5000 
yards.  A  15-pounder  shrapnell  shell,  for  instance, 
contains  192  bullets,  and  covers  several  hundred 
yards  with  the  scattered  missiles  flying  with  extreme 
velocity. 

Common  shell,  from  2J  to  3  calibres  long,  contains 
an  explosive  only.  Another  variety  is  segment  shell, 
made  of  pieces  built  up  in  a  ring  with  a  bursting 
charge  in  the  centre  which  presently  shatters  it. 

116 


Explosives 

The  Palliser  shell  has  a  marvellous  penetrating 
power  when  used  against  iron  plates.  But,  mirahile 
dictul  experiments  tried  within  the  past  few  months 
prove  that  a  soft  cap  added  externally  enables  a  pro- 
jectile to  pierce  with  ease  armour  which  had  previ- 
ously defied  every  attack, 

* 

Explosives. 

Half  a  century  ago  gunpowder  was  still  the  one 
driving  power  which  started  the  projectile  on  its 
flight.  It  is  composed  of  some  75  parts  of  saltpetre 
or  nitrate  of  potash,  15  parts  of  carefully  prepared 
charcoal,  and  10  parts  of  sulphur.  This  composition 
imprisons  a  large  amount  of  oxygen  for  combustion 
and  is  found  to  act  most  successfully  w^hen  formed 
into  rather  large  prismatic  grains. 

On  the  abolition  of  the  old  flint-lock  its  place  was 
taken  by  a  detonating  substance  enclosed  in  a  copper 
cap,  and  some  time  later  inventors  came  forward  with 
new  and  more  powerful  explosives  to  supersede  the 
use  of  gunpowder. 

By  treating  cotton  with  nitric  and  sulphuric  acid 
reaction  gun-cotton  was  produced ;  and  a  year  later 
glycerine  treated  in  the  same  manner  became  known 
to  commerce  as  nitro-glycerine.  This  liquid  form 
being  inconvenient  to  handle,  some  inert  granular 
substance  such  as  infusorial  earth  was  used  to  absorb 
the  nitro-glycerine,  and  dynamite  was  the  result. 

The  explosion  of  gun-cotton  was  found  to  be  too 

117 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

sudden  and  rapid  for  rifles  or  cannon ;  it  was  liable 
to  burst  the  piece  instead  of  blowing  out  the  charge. 
In  order  to  lessen  the  rapidity  of  its  ignition  ordinary 
cotton  was  mixed  with  it,  or  its  threads  were  twisted 
round  some  inert  substance. 

When  repeating-rifles  and  machine-guns  came  into 
general  use  a  smokeless  powder  became  necessary. 
Such  powders  as  a  rule  contain  nitro-cellulose  (gun- 
cotton)  or  nitro-glycerine,  or  both.  These  are  com- 
bined into  a  plastic,  gluey  composition,  which  is  then 
made  up  into  sticks  or  pellets  of  various  shapes,  and 
usually  of  large  size  to  lessen  the  extreme  rapidity  of 
their  combustion.  Substances  such  as  tan,  paraffin, 
starch,  bran,  peat,  &c.,  &c.,  and  many  mineral  salts, 
are  used  in  forming  low  explosives  from  high  ones. 

To  secure  complete  combustion  some  of  the  larger 
pellets  are  made  with  a  central  hole,  or  even  pierced 
by  many  holes,  so  that  the  fire  penetrates  the  entire 
mass  and  carries  off  all  its  explosive  qualities. 

Our  cordite  consists  of  nitro-glycerine  dissolving 
di-nitro  cellulose  by  the  acid  of  a  volatile  solvent  and 
a  mineral  jelly  or  oil.  This  compound  is  semi-fluid, 
and  being  passed  like  macaroni  through  round  holes 
in  a  metal  plate  it  forms  strings  or  cords  of  varying 
size  according  to  the  diameter  of  the  holes.  Hence 
the  name,  cordite. 

Many  experiments  in  search  of  more  powerful 
explosives  resulted  in  an  almost  universal  adoption  of 
picric  acid  as  the  base.  This  acid  is  itself  produced 
by  the  action  of  nitric  acid  upon  carbolic  acid,  and 

ii8 


ExpL 


osives 

each  nation  has  its  own  fashion  of  preparing  it  for 
artillery. 

The  French  began  with  milinite  in  1885,  this  being 
a  mixture  of  picric  acid  and  gun-cotton. 

The  composition  of  lyddite  (named  from  its  place  of 
manufacture,  Lydd,  in  Kent)  is  a  jealously-guarded 
British  secret.  This  substance  was  first  used  in  5-inch 
howitzers  during  the  late  Soudan  campaign,  playing  a 
part  in  the  bombardment  of  Omdurman.  The  effect 
of  the  50-lb.  lyddite  shells  upon  the  South  African 
kopjes  is  described  as  astounding.  When  the  yellow 
cloud  had  cleared  away  trees  were  seen  uprooted,  rocks 
pulverised,  the  very  face  of  the  earth  had  changed. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  utiHse  dynamite 
for  shells,  some  of  the  guns  employing  compressed  air 
as  their  motive  power.  The  United  States  some  years 
ago  went  to  great  expense  in  setting  up  for  this  pur- 
pose heavy  pneumatic  plant,  which  has  recently  been 
disposed  of  as  too  cumbrous.  Dudley's  "  Aerial 
Torpedo"  gun  discharged  a  13-lb.  shell  containing 
explosive  gelatine,  gun-cotton,  and  fulminate  of  mer- 
cury by  igniting  the  small  cordite  charge  in  a  parallel 
tube,  through  a  vent  in  which  the  partially  cooled 
gases  acted  on  the  projectile  in  the  barrel.  This  was 
rotated  in  the  air  by  inclined  blades  on  a  tailpiece,  as 
the  barrel  could  not  be  rifled  for  fear  of  the  heat  set 
up  by  friction.  Some  guns  actuated  on  much  the 
same  principle  are  said  to  have  been  used  with  effect 
in  the  Hispano-American  war.  Mr.  Hudson  Maxim 
with  his  explosive  "  maximite  "  claims  to  throw  half  a 

119 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

ton  of  dynamite  about  a  mile,  and  a  one-ton  shell  to 
half  that  distance. 

But  even  these  inventors  are  outstripped  by  Professor 
Birkeland,  who  undertakes  to  hurl  a  projectile  weigh- 
ing two  tons  from  an  iron  tube  coiled  with  copper  wire 
down  which  an  electric  current  is  passed ;  thus  doing 
away  entirely  with  the  need  of  a  firing-charge. 


In  the  Gun  Factory, 

Let  us  pay  a  visit  to  one  of  our  gun  factories  and 
get  some  idea  of  the  multiform  activities  necessary 
to  the  turning  out  complete  of  a  single  piece  of 
ordnance  or  a  complicated  machine-gun.  We  enter 
the  enormous  workshop,  glazed  as  to  roof  and  sides, 
full  of  the  varied  buzz  and  whirr  and  clank  of  the 
machinery.  Up  and  down  the  long  bays  stand  row 
upon  row  of  lathes,  turning,  milling,  polishing,  boring, 
rifling — all  moving  automatically,  and  with  a  precision 
which  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  The  silent  attend- 
ants seem  to  have  nothing  in  their  own  hands,  they 
simply  watch  that  the  cutting  does  not  go  too  far 
and  with  a  touch  of  the  guiding  handles  regulate  the 
pace  or  occasionally  insert  a  fresh  tool.  The  bits  used 
in  these  processes  are  self-cleaning,  so  the  machinery 
is  never  clogged ;  and  on  the  ground  lie  little  heaps  of 
brass  chips  cut  away  by  the  minute  milling  tools  ;  or 
in  other  places  it  is  bestrewn  with  shavings  of  brass 
and  steel  which  great  chisels  peel  off  as  easily  as  a 
carpenter  shaves  a  deal  board. 

120 


In  the  Gun  Factory 

Here  an  enormous  steel  ingot,  forged  solid,  heated 
again  and  again  in  a  huge  furnace  and  beaten  by 
steam-hammers,  or  pressed  by  hydraulic  power 
between  each  heating  till  it  is  brought  to  the  desired 
size  and  shape,  is  having  its  centre  bored  through  by 
a  special  drill  which  takes  out  a  solid  core.  This 
operation  is  termed  ''trepanning/'  and  is  applied  to 
guns  not  exceeding  eight  inches ;  those  of  larger  calibre 
being  rough-bored  on  a  lathe,  and  mandrils  placed 
in  them  during  the  subsequent  forgings.  The  tre- 
mendous heat  generated  during  the  boring  processes 
— we  may  recall  how  Benjamin  Thompson  made 
water  boil  by  the  experimental  boring  of  a  cannon — 
is  kept  down  by  streams  of  soapy  water  continually 
pumped  through  and  over  the  metal.  We  notice  this 
flow  of  lubricating  fluid  in  all  directions,  from  oil  drop- 
ping slowly  on  to  the  small  brass-milling  machines  to 
this  fountain-play  of  water  which  makes  a  pleasant 
undertone  amidst  the  jangle  of  the  machines.  But 
these  machines  are  less  noisy  than  we  anticipated  ; 
in  their  actual  working  they  emit  scarcely  the  slightest 
sound.  What  strikes  us  more  than  the  supreme  exact- 
ness with  which  each  does  its  portion  of  the  work,  is 
the  great  deliberateness  of  its  proceeding.  All  the 
hurry  and  bustle  is  above  us,  caused  by  the  driving- 
bands  from  the  engine,  which  keeps  the  whole 
machinery  of  the  shed  in  motion.  Suddenly,  with 
harsh  creakings,  a  great  overhead  crane  comes  jarring 
along  the  bay,  drops  a  chain,  grips  up  a  gun-barrel, 
and,  handling  this  mass  of  many  tons'  weight  as  easily 

121 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

as  we  should  lift  a  walking-stick,  swings  it  off  to 
undergo  another  process  of  manufacture. 

We  pass  on  to  the  next  lathe  where  a  still  larger 
torging  is  being  turned  externally,  supported  on 
specially  devised  running  gear,  many  different  cut- 
ters acting  upon  it  at  the  same  time,  so  that  it  is 
gradually  assuming  the  tapering,  banded  appearance 
familiar  to  us  in  the  completed  state. 

We  turn,  fairly  bewildered,  from  one  stage  of 
manufacture  to  another.  Here  is  a  gun  whose  bore 
is  being  "  chambered "  to  the  size  necessary  for 
containing  the  firing  charge.  Further  along  we 
examine  a  more  finished  weapon  in  process  of  pre- 
paration to  receive  the  breech-plug  and  other  fittings. 
Still  another  we  notice  which  has  been  "  fine-bored  " 
to  a  beautifully  smooth  surface  but  is  being  im- 
proved yet  more  by  '^  lapping  "  with  lead  and  emery 
powder. 

In  the  next  shed  a  marvellous  machine  is  rifling 
the  interior  of  a  barrel  with  a  dexterity  absolutely 
uncanny,  for  the  tool  which  does  the  rifling  has  to 
be  rotated  in  order  to  give  the  proper  "twist"  at 
the  same  moment  as  it  is  advancing  lengthwise  down 
the  bore.  The  grooves  are  not  made  simultaneously 
but  as  a  rule  one  at  a  time,  the  distance  between 
them  being  kept  by  measurements  on  a  prepared 
disc. 

Now  we  have  reached  the  apparatus  for  the  wire- 
wound  guns,  a  principle  representing  the  ne  plus 
ultra    of    strength    and    durability   hitherto   evolved. 

122 


In  the  Gun  Factory 

The  rough-bored  gun  is  placed  upon  a  lathe  which 
revolves  slowly,  drawing  on  to  it  from  a  reel  mounted 
at  one  side  a  continuous  layer  of  steel  ribbon  about 
a  quarter  of  an  inch  wide.  On  a  12-inch  gun  there  is 
wound  some  117  miles  of  this  wire  !  fourteen  layers  of 
it  at  the  muzzle  end  and  seventy-five  at  the  breech 
end.  Heavy  weights  regulate  the  tension  of  the  wire, 
which  varies  for  each  layer,  the  outermost  being  at 
the  lowest  tension,  which  will  resist  a  pressure  of 
over  100  tons  to  the  square  inch. 

We  next  enter  the  division  in  which  the  gun 
cradles  and  mounts  are  prepared,  where  we  see  some 
of  the  heaviest  work  carried  out  by  electric  dynamos, 
the  workman  sitting  on  a  raised  platform  to  keep  care- 
ful watch  over  his  business. 

Passing  through  this  with  interested  but  cursory 
inspection  of  the  cone  mountings  for  quick-firing 
naval  guns,  some  ingenious  elevating  and  training  gear 
and  a  field  carriage  whose  hydraulic  buffers  merit 
closer  examination,  we  come  to  the  shell  department 
where  all  kinds  of  projectiles  are  manufactured. 
Shrapnel  in  its  various  forms,  armour-piercing  shells, 
forged  steel  or  cast-iron,  and  small  brass  cartridges 
for  the  machine-guns  may  be  found  here ;  and  the 
beautifully  delicate  workmanship  of  the  fuse  arrange- 
ments attracts  our  admiration.  But  we  may  not 
linger ;  the  plant  for  the  machine-guns  themselves 
claim  our  attention. 

Owing  to  the  complexity  and  minute  mechanism 
of  these  weapons  almost  a  hundred  different  machines 

123 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

are  needed,  some  of  the  milling  machines  taking  a 
large  selection  of  cutters  upon  one  spindle.  Indeed, 
in  many  parts  of  the  works  one  notices  the  men 
changing  their  tools  for  others  of  different  size  or 
application.  Some  of  the  boring  machines  work 
two  barrels  at  the  same  time,  others  can  drill  three 
barrels  or  polish  a  couple  simultaneously.  But  there 
are  hundreds  of  minute  operations  which  need  to 
be  done  separately,  down  to  the  boring  of  screw 
holes  and  cutting  the  groove  on  a  screw-head. 
Many  labourers  are  employed  upon  the  lock  alone. 
And  every  portion  is  gauged  correctly  to  the  most 
infinitesimal  fraction,  being  turned  out  by  the 
thousand,  that  every  separate  item  may  be  inter- 
changeable among  weapons  of  the  same  make. 

Look  at  the  barrel  which  came  grey  and  dull  from 
its  first  turning  now  as  it  is  dealt  with  changing 
into  bright  silver.  Here  it  is  adjusted  upon  the 
hydraulic  rifling  machine  which  will  prepare  it  to 
carry  the  small-arm  bullet  (.303  inch).  That  one  of 
larger  calibre  is  rifled  to  fire  a  small  shell.  Further 
on,  the  barrels  and  their  jackets  are  being  fitted 
together  and  the  different  parts  assembled  and  screwed 
up.  We  have  not  time  to  follow  the  perfect  imple- 
ment to  its  mounting,  nor  to  do  more  than  glance 
at  those  howitzers  and  the  breech  mechanism  of 
the  6-inch  quick-firers  near  which  our  guide  indicates 
piles  of  flat  cases  to  keep  the  de  Bange  obturators 
from  warping  while  out  of  use.  For  the  afternoon 
is  waning  and  the  foundry  still  unvisited. 

124 


In  the  Gun  Factory 

To  reach  it  we  pass  through  the  smith's  shop  and 
pause  awhile  to  watch  a  supply  of  spanners  being 
roughly  stamped  by  an  immense  machine  out  of 
metal  plates  and  having  their  edges  tidied  off  be- 
fore they  can  be  further  perfected.  A  steam-hammer 
is  busily  engaged  in  driving  mandrils  of  increasing 
size  through  the  centre  of  a  red-hot  forging.  The 
heat  from  the  forges  is  tremendous,  and  though  it 
is  tempered  by  a  spray  of  falling  water  we  are  glad 
to  escape  into  the  next  shed. 

Here  we  find  skilled  workmen  carefully  preparing 
moulds  by  taking  in  sand  the  exact  impression  of 
a  wooden  dummy.  Fortunately  we  arrive  just  as  a 
series  of  casts  deeply  sunk  in  the  ground  are  about 
to  be  made.  Two  brawny  labourers  bear  forward 
an  enormous  iron  crucible,  red-hot  from  the  furnace, 
filled  with  seething  liquid — manganese  bronze,  we  are 
told — which,  when  an  iron  bar  is  dipped  into  it, 
throws  up  tongues  of  beautiful  greenish-golden  flame. 
The  smith  stirs  and  clears  off  the  scum  as  coolly  as  a 
cook  skims  her  broth  !  Now  it  is  ready,  the  crucible 
is  again  lifted  and  its  contents  poured  into  a  large 
funnel  from  which  it  flows  into  the  moulds  beneath 
and  fills  them  to  the  level  of  the  floor.  At  each 
one  a  helper  armed  with  an  iron  bar  takes  his  stand 
and  stirs  again  to  work  up  all  dross  and  air-bubbles 
to  the  surface  before  the  metal  sets — a  scene  worthy 
of  a  painter's  brush. 

And  so  we  leave  them. 


125 


DIRIGIBLE   TORPEDOES. 

The  history  of  warlike  inventions  is  the  history  of  a 
continual  see-saw  between  the  discovery  of  a  new 
means  of  defence  and  the  discovery  of  a  fresh  means 
of  attack.  At  one  time  a  shield  is  devised  to  repel 
a  javelin  ;  at  another  a  machine  to  hurl  the  javelin 
with  increased  violence  against  the  shield ;  then  the 
shield  is  reinforced  by  complete  coats  of  mail,  and  so 
on.  The  ball  of  invention  has  rolled  steadily  on  into 
our  own  times,  gathering  size  as  it  rolls,  and  bringing 
more  and  more  startling  revolutions  in  the  art  of  war. 
To-day  it  is  a  battle  between  the  forces  of  nature, 
controllable  by  man  in  the  shape  of  "  high  explosives," 
and  the  resisting  power  of  metals  tempered  to  extreme 
toughness. 

At  present  it  looks  as  if,  on  the  sea  at  least,  the 
attack  were  stronger  than  the  defence.  Our  warships 
may  be  cased  in  the  hardest  metal  several  inches 
thick  until  they  become  floating  forts,  almost  im- 
pregnable to  the  heaviest  shells.  They  may  be  pro- 
vided with  terrible  engines  able  to  give  blow  for  blow, 
and  be  manned  with  the  stoutest  hearts  in  the  world. 
And  yet,  were  a  sea-fight  in  progress,  a  blow,  crushing 
and  resistless,  might  at  any  time  come  upon  the  vessel 
from  a  quarter  whence,  even   though   suspected,  its 

126 


Dirigible  Torpedoes 

coming  might  escape  notice — below  the  waterline. 
Were  it  possible  to  case  an  ironclad  from  deck  to 
keel  in  foot-thick  plating,  the  metal  would  crumple 
like  a  biscuit-box  under  the  terrible  impact  of  the 
torpedo. 

This  destructive  weapon  is  an  object  of  awe  not 
so  much  from  what  it  has  done  as  from  what  it  can 
do.  The  instances  of  a  torpedo  shivering  a  vessel 
in  actual  warfare  are  but  few.  Yet  its  moral  effect 
must  be  immense.  Even  though  it  may  miss  its 
mark,  the  very  fact  of  its  possible  presence  will, 
especially  at  night-time,  tend  to  keep  the  command- 
ing minds  of  a  fleet  very  much  on  the  stretch,  and 
to  destroy  their  efficiency.  A  torpedo  knows  no 
half  measures.  It  is  either  entirely  successful  or 
utterly  useless.  Its  construction  entails  great  ex 
pense,  but  inasmuch  as  it  can,  if  directed  aright,  send 
a  million  of  the  enemy's  money  and  a  regiment  of 
men  to  the  bottom,  the  discharge  of  a  torpedo  is, 
after  all,  but  the  setting  of  a  sprat  to  catch  a  whale. 

The  aim  of  inventors  has  been  to  endow  the 
dirigible  torpedo,  fit  for  use  in  the  open  sea,  with 
such  qualities  that  when  once  launched  on  its  murder- 
ous course  it  can  pursue  its  course  in  the  required 
direction  without  external  help.  The  difficulties  to 
be  overcome  in  arriving  at  a  serviceable  weapon 
have  been  very  great  owing  to  the  complexity  of  the 
problem.  A  torpedo  cannot  be  fired  through  water 
like  a  cannon  shell  through  air.  Water,  though 
yielding,  is  incompressible,  and   offers   to  a  moving 

127 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

body  a  resistance  increasing  with  the  speed  of  that 
body.  Therefore  the  torpedo  must  contain  its  own 
motive  power  and  its  own  steering  apparatus,  and 
be  in  effect  a  miniature  submarine  vessel  complete 
in  itself.  To  be  out  of  sight  and  danger  it  must 
travel  beneath  the  surface  and  yet  not  sink  to  the 
bottom ;  to  be  effective  it  must  possess  great  speed,  a 
considerable  sphere  of  action,  and  be  able  to  counter- 
act any  chance  currents  it  may  meet  on  its  way. 

Among  purely  automobile  torpedoes  the  Whitehead 
is  easily  first.  After  thirty  years  it  still  holds  the  lead 
for  open  sea  work.  It  is  a  very  marvel  of  ingenious 
adaptation  of  means  to  an  end,  and  as  it  has  ful- 
filled most  successfully  the  conditions  set  forth  above 
for  an  effective  projectile  it  will  be  interesting  to 
examine  in  some  detail  this  most  valuable  weapon. 

In  1873  one  Captain  Lupuis  of  the  Austrian  navy 
experimented  with  a  small  fireship  which  he  directed 
along  the  surface  of  the  sea  by  means  of  ropes  and 
guiding  lines.  This  fireship  was  to  be  loaded  with 
explosives  which  should  ignite  immediately  on  coming 
into  collision  with  the  vessel  aimed  at.  The  Austrian 
Government  declared  his  scheme  unworkable  in  its 
crude  form,  and  the  Captain  looked  about  for  some  one 
to  help  him  throw  what  he  felt  to  be  a  sound  idea 
into  a  practical  shape.  He  found  the  man  he  wanted 
in  Mr.  Whitehead,  who  was  at  that  time  manager 
of  an  engineering  establishment  at  Fiume.  Mr.  White- 
head fell  in  enthusiastically  with  his  proposition,  at 
once  discarded   the    complicated   system   of  guiding 

128 


Dirigible  Torpedoes 

ropes,  and  set  to  work  to  solve  the  problem  on  his 
own  lines.  At  the  end  of  two  years,  during  which 
he  worked  in  secret,  aided  only  by  a  trusted  mechanic 
and  a  boy,  his  son,  he  constructed  the  first  torpedo 
of  the  type  that  bears  his  name.  It  was  made  of 
steel,  was  fourteen  inches  in  diameter,  weighed  300 
lbs.,  and  carried  eighteen  pounds  of  dynamite  as 
explosive  charge.  But  its  powers  were  limited.  It 
could  attain  a  rate  of  but  six  knots  an  hour  under 
favourable  conditions,  and  then  for  a  short  distance 
only.  Its  conduct  was  uncertain.  Sometimes  it 
would  run  along  the  surface,  at  others  make  plunges 
for  the  bottom.  However,  the  British  Government, 
recognising  the  importance  of  Mr.  Whitehead's  work, 
encouraged  him  to  perfect  his  instrument,  and  paid 
him  a  large  sum  for  the  patent  rights.  Pattern  suc- 
ceeded pattern,  until  comparative  perfection  was 
reached. 

Described  briefly,  the  Whitehead  torpedo  is  cigar- 
shaped,  blunt-nosed  and  tapering  gradually  towards 
the  tail,  so  following  the  lines  of  a  fish.  Its  length 
is  twelve  times  its  diameter,  which  varies  in  different 
patterns  from  fourteen  to  nineteen  inches.  At  the 
fore  end  is  the  striker,  and  at  the  tail  are  a  couple 
of  three-bladed  screws  working  on  one  shaft  in 
opposite  directions,  to  economise  power  and  obviate 
any  tendency  of  the  torpedo  to  travel  in  a  curve ;  and 
two  sets  of  rudders,  the  one  horizontal,  the  other 
vertical.  The  latest  form  of  the  torpedo  has  a  speed  of 
twenty-nine  knots  and  a  range  of  over  a  thousand  yards. 

129  I 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

The  torpedo  is  divided  into  five  compartments  by 
watertight  steel  bulkheads.  At  the  front  is  the  ex- 
plosive heady  containing  wet  gun-cotton,  or  some 
other  explosive.  The  '^  war  head,"  as  it  is  called,  is 
detachable,  and  for  practice  purposes  its  place  is 
taken  by  a  dummy-head  filled  with  wood  to  make 
the  balance  correct. 

Next  comes  the  air  chamber^  filled  with  highly-com- 
pressed air  to  drive  the  engines  ;  after  it  the  balance 
chambeVy  containing  the  apparatus  for  keeping  the 
torpedo  at  its  proper  depth  ;  then  the  engine-room ; 
and,  last  of  all,  the  buoyancy  chamber^  which  is  air-tight 
and  prevents  the  torpedo  from  sinking  at  the  end 
of  its  run. 

To  examine  the  compartments  in  order  : — 

In  the  very  front  of  the  torpedo  is  the  pistol  and 
primer-charge  for  igniting  the  gun-cotton.  Especial 
care  has  been  taken  over  this  part  of  the  mechanism, 
to  prevent  the  torpedo  being  as  dangerous  to  friends 
as  to  foes.  The  pistol  consists  of  a  steel  plug  sliding 
in  a  metal  tube,  at  the  back  end  of  which  is  the 
fulminating  charge.  Until  the  plug  is  driven  right  in 
against  this  charge  there  can  be  no  explosion.  Three 
precautions  are  taken  against  this  happening  pre- 
maturely. In  the  first  place,  there  is  on  the  forward 
end  of  the  plug  a  thread  cut,  up  which  a  screw-fan 
travels  as  soon  as  it  strikes  the  water.  Until  the 
torpedo  has  run  forty-five  feet  the  fan  has  not  reached 
the  end  of  its  travel,  and  the  plug  consequently 
cannot  be  driven   home.      Even   when   the   plug  is 

130 


Dirigible  Torpedoes 

quite  free  only  a  heavy  blow  will  drive  it  in,  as  a 
little  copper  pin  has  to  be  sheared  through  by  the 
impact.  And  before  the  screw  can  unwind  at  all,  a 
safety-pin  must  be  withdrawn  at  the  moment  of 
firing.  So  that  a  torpedo  is  harmless  until  it  has 
passed  outside  the  zone  of  danger  to  the  discharging 
vessel. 

The  detonating  charge  is  thirty-eight  grains  of 
fulminate  of  mercury,  and  the  primer-charge  consists 
of  six  one-ounce  discs  of  dry  gun-cotton  contained 
in  a  copper  cylinder,  the  front  end  of  which  is 
connected  with  the  striker-tube  of  the  pistol.  The 
fulminate,  on  receiving  a  blow,  expands  2500  times, 
giving  a  violent  shock  to  the  gun-cotton  discs,  which 
in  turn  explode  and  impart  a  shock  to  the  main 
charge,  200  lbs.  of  gun-cotton. 

The  air  chamber  is  made  of  the  finest  compressed 
steel,  or  of  phosphor-bronze,  a  third  of  an  inch  thick^ 
When  ready  for  action  this  chamber  has  to  bear  a 
pressure  of  1350  lbs.  to  the  square  inch.  So  severe  is 
the  compression  that  in  the  largest-sized  torpedoes 
the  air  in  this  chamber  weighs  no  less  than  63  lbs. 
The  air  is  forced  in  by  very  powerful  pumps  of  a 
special  design.  Aft  of  this  chamber  is  that  containing 
the  stop-valve  and  steering-gear.  The  stop-valve  is  a 
species  of  air-tap  sealing  the  air  chamber  until  the 
torpedo  is  to  be  discharged.  The  valve  is  so  arranged 
that  it  is  impossible  to  insert  the  torpedo  into  the 
firing-tube  before  the  valve  has  been  opened,  and  so 
brought  the   air  chamber  into   communication  with 

131 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  starting-valve,  which  does  not  admit   air  to  the 
engines  till  after  the  projectile  has  left  the  tube. 

The  steering  apparatus  is  undoubtedly  the  most  in- 
genious of  the  many  clever  contrivances  packed  into 
a  Whitehead  torpedo.  Its  function  is  to  keep  the 
torpedo  on  an  even  keel  at  a  depth  determined 
before  the  discharge.  This  is  effected  by  means 
of  two  agencies,  a  swinging  weight,  and  a  valve 
which  is  driven  in  by  water  pressure  as  the  torpedo 
sinks.  When  the  torpedo  points  head  downwards 
the  weight  swings  forward,  and  by  means  of  connect- 
ing levers  brings  the  horizontal  rudders  up.  As 
the  torpedo  rises  the  weight  becomes  vertical  and 
the  rudder  horizontal.  This  device  only  insures 
that  the  torpedo  shall  travel  horizontally.  The 
valve  makes  it  keep  its  proper  depth  by  working 
in  conjunction  with  the  pendulum.  The  principle, 
which  is  too  complicated  for  full  description,  is,  put 
briefly,  a  tendency  of  the  valve  to  correct  the 
pendulum  whenever  the  latter  swings  too  far.  Lest 
the  pendulum  should  be  violently  shaken  by  the  dis- 
charge there  is  a  special  controlling  gear  which  keeps 
the  rudders  fixed  until  the  torpedo  has  proceeded 
a  certain  distance,  when  the  steering  mechanism  is 
released.  The  steering-gear  does  not  work  directly 
on  the  rudder.  Mr,  Whitehead  found  in  his  earlier 
experiments  that  the  pull  exerted  by  the  weight  and 
valve  was  not  sufficient  to  move  the  rudders  against 
the  pressure  of  the  screws.  He  therefore  introduced 
a  beautiful   little  auxiliary  engine,  called  the  servo- 

132 


Dirigible  Torpedoes 

motor,  which  is  to  the  torpedo  what  the  steam  steering- 
gear  is  to  a  ship.  The  servo-motor,  situated  in  the 
engine-roomy  is  only  four  inches  long,  but  the  power  it 
exerts  by  means  of  compressed  air  is  so  great  that  a 
pressure  of  half  an  ounce  exerted  by  the  steering-gear 
produces  a  pull  of  i6o  lbs.  on  the  rudders. 

The  engines  consist  of  three  single-action  cylinders, 
their  cranks  working  at  an  angle  of  120°  to  one 
another,  so  that  there  is  no  ''dead"  or  stopping 
point  in  their  action.  They  are  very  small,  but, 
thanks  to  the  huge  pressure  in  the  air  chamber, 
develop  nearly  thirty-one  horse-power.  Lest  they 
should  ''race/'  or  revolve  too  quickly,  while  passing 
from  the  tube  to  the  water  and  do  themselves  serious 
damage,  they  are  provided  with  a  "  delay  action  valve," 
which  is  opened  by  the  impact  of  the  torpedo  against 
the  water.  Further,  lest  the  air  should  be  admitted 
to  the  cylinders  at  a  very  high  pressure  gradually 
decreasing  to  zero,  a  "  reducing  valve  "  or  governor  is 
added  to  keep  the  engines  running  at  a  constant  speed. 

Whitehead  torpedoes  are  fired  from  tubes  above  or 
below  the  waterline.  Deck  tubes  have  the  advantage 
of  being  more  easily  aimed,  but  when  loaded  they  are 
a  source  of  danger,  as  any  stray  bullet  or  shell  from 
an  enemy's  ship  might  explode  the  torpedo  with  dire 
results.  There  is  therefore  an  increasing  preference 
for  submerged  tubes.  An  ingenious  device  is  used 
for  aiming  the  torpedo,  which  makes  allowances  for 
the  speed  of  the  ship  from  which  it  is  fired,  the  speed 
of  the  ship  aimed  at,  and  the  speed  of  the  torpedo 

133 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

itself.  When  the  moment  for  firing  arrives,  the 
officer  in  charge  presses  an  electric  button,  which 
sets  in  motion  an  electric  magnet  fixed  to  the  side  of 
the  tube.  The  magnet  releases  a  heavy  ball  which 
falls  and  turns  the  "  firing  rod."  Compressed  air  or  a 
powder  discharge  is  brought  to  bear  on  the  rear  end 
of  the  torpedo,  which,  if  submerged,  darts  out  from 
the  vessel's  side  along  a  guiding  bar,  from  which  it  is 
released  at  both  ends  simultaneously,  thus  avoiding 
the  great  deflection  towards  the  stern  which  would 
occur  were  a  broadside  torpedo  not  held  at  the  nose 
till  the  tail  is  clear.  This  guiding  apparatus  enables 
a  torpedo  to  leave  the  side  of  a  vessel  travelling  at 
high  speed  almost  at  right  angles  to  the  vessel's  path. 

It  will  be  easily  understood  that  a  Whitehead  tor- 
pedo is  a  costly  projectile,  and  that  its  value — £s^^  or 
more — makes  the  authorities  very  careful  of  its  wel- 
fare. During  practice  with  *'  blank "  torpedoes  a 
*'  Holmes  light "  is  attached.  This  light  is  a  canister 
full  of  calcium  phosphide  to  which  water  penetrates 
through  numerous  holes,  causing  gas  to  be  thrown 
off  and  rise  to  the  surface,  where,  on  meeting  with 
the  oxygen  of  the  air,  it  bursts  into  flame  and  gives 
off  dense  volumes  of  heavy  smoke,  disclosing  the 
position  of  the  torpedo  by  night  or  day. 

At  Portsmouth  are  storehouses  containing  upwards 
of  a  thousand  torpedoes.  Every  torpedo  is  at  inter- 
vals taken  to  pieces,  examined,  tested,  and  put  to- 
gether again  after  full  particulars  have  been  taken 
down  on  paper.     Each  steel  ^*  baby "  is  kept  bright 

134 


Dirigible  Torpedoes 

and  clean,  coated  with  a  thin  layer  of  oil,  lest  a  single 
spot  of  rust  should  mar  its  beauty.  An  interesting 
passage  from  Lieutenant  G.  E.  Armstrong's  book  on 
*'  Torpedoes  and  Torpedo  Vessels  "  will  illustrate  the 
scrupulous  exactness  observed  in  all  things  relating 
to  the  torpedo  depots  :  ^'  As  an  example  of  the  care 
with  which  the  stores  are  kept  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  a  particular  tiny  pattern  of  brass  screw  which 
forms  part  of  the  torpedo's  mechanism  and  which 
is  valued  at  about  twopence-halfpenny  per  gross,  is 
never  allowed  to  be  a  single  number  wrong.  On  one 
occasion,  when  the  stocktaking  took  place,  it  was 
found  that  instead  of  5000  little  screws  being  accounted 
for  by  the  man  who  was  told  off  to  count  them,  there 
were  only  4997.  Several  foolscap  letters  were  written 
and  exchanged  over  these  three  small  screws,  though 
their  value  was  not  more  than  a  small  fraction  of 
a  farthing." 

The  classic  instance  of  the  effectiveness  of  this 
type  of  torpedo  is  the  battle  of  the  Yalu,  fought  be- 
tween the  Japanese  and  Chinese  fleets  in  1894.  The 
Japanese  had  been  pounding  their  adversaries  for 
hours  with  their  big  guns  without  producing  decisive 
results.  So  they  determined  upon  a  torpedo  attack, 
which  was  delivered  early  in  the  morning  under  cover 
of  darkness,  and  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  a 
cruiser,  the  Ting  Yuen,  The  next  night  a  second 
incursion  of  the  Japanese  destroyers  wrecked  another 
cruiser,  the  Lai  Yuen^  which  sunk  within  five  minutes 
of  being  struck ;  sank  the  Wei  Yuen^  an  old  wooden 

13s 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

vessel  used  as  a  training-school ;  and  blew  a  large 
steam  launch  out  of  the  water  on  to  an  adjacent 
wharf.  These  hits  "  below  the  belt "  were  too  much 
for  the  Chinese,  who  soon  afterwards  surrendered  to 
their  more  scientific  and  better  equipped  foes. 

If  a  general  naval  war  broke  out  to-day  most 
nations  would  undoubtedly  pin  their  faith  to  the 
Whitehead  torpedo  for  use  in  the  open  sea,  now  that 
its  accuracy  has  been  largely  increased  by  the  gyro- 
scope, a  heavy  flywheel  attachment  revolving  rapidly 
at  right  angles  to  the  path  of  the  torpedo,  and  render- 
ing a  change  of  direction  almost  impossible. 

For  harbour  defence  the  Brennan  or  its  American 
rival,  the  Sims-Edison,  might  be  employed.  They 
are  both  torpedoes  dirigible  from  a  fixed  base  by 
means  of  connecting  wires.  The  presence  of  these 
wires  constitutes  an  obstacle  to  their  being  of  service 
in  a  fleet  action. 

The  Brennan  is  used  by  our  naval  authorities.  It 
is  the  invention  of  a  Melbourne  watchmaker.  Being 
a  comparatively  poor  man,  Mr.  Brennan  applied  to 
the  Colonial  Government  for  grants  to  aid  him  in  the 
manufacture  and  development  of  his  torpedo,  and  he 
was  supplied  with  sufficient  money  to  perfect  it.  In 
1881  he  was  requested  by  our  Admiralty  to  bring  his 
invention  to  England,  where  it  was  experimented 
upon,  and  pronounced  so  efficient  for  harbour  and 
creek  defence  that  at  the  advice  of  the  Royal  Engi- 
neers Mr.  Brennan  was  paid  large  sums  for  his 
patents  and  services. 

136 


Dirigible  Torpedoes 

The  Brennan  torpedo^derives  its  motive  power  from 
a  very  powerful  engine  on  shore,  capable  of  develop- 
ing 100  horse-power,  with  which  it  is  connected  by 
stout  piano  wires.  One  end  of  these  wires  is  wound 
on  two  reels  inside  the  torpedo,  each  working  a 
screw;  the  other  end  is  attached  to  two  winding 
drums  driven  at  high  velocity  by  the  engine  on  shore. 
As  the  drums  wind  in  the  wire  the  reels  in  the  torpedo 
revolve  ;  consequently,  the  harder  the  torpedo  is  pulled 
back  the  faster  it  moves  forward,  liked  a  trained  trot- 
ting mare.  The  steering  of  the  torpedo  is  effected  by 
alterations  in  the  relative  speeds  of  the  drums,  and 
consequently  of  the  screws.  The  drums  run  loose  on 
the  engine  axle,  and  are  thrown  in  or  out  of  gear  by 
means  of  a  friction-brake,  so  that  their  speed  can  be 
regulated  without  altering  the  pace  of  the  engines. 
Any  increase  in  the  speed  of  one  drum  causes  a 
corresponding  decrease  in  the  speed  of  the  other. 
The  torpedo  can  be  steered  easily  to  right  or  left 
within  an  arc  of  forty  degrees  on  each  side  of  straight 
ahead  ;  but  when  once  launched  it  cannot  be  retrieved 
except  by  means  of  a  boat.  Its  path  is  marked  by  a 
Holmes  light,  described  above.  It  has  a  200-lb.  gun- 
cotton  charge,  and  is  fitted  with  an  apparatus  for 
maintaining  a  proper  depth  very  similar  to  that  used 
in  the  Whitehead  torpedo. 

The  Sims-Edison  torpedo  differs  from  the  Brennan 
in  its  greater  obedience  to  orders  and  in  its  motive 
power  being  electrically  transmitted  through  a  single 
connecting  cable.     It  is  over  thirty  feet  in  length  and 

137 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

two  feet  in  diameter.  Attached  to  the  torpedo  proper 
by  rods  is  a  large  copper  float,  furnished  with  balls 
to  show  the  operator  the  path  of  the  torpedo.  The 
torpedo  itself  is  in  four  parts  :  the  explosive  head ; 
the  magazine  of  electric  cables,  which  is  paid  out  as 
the  torpedo  travels ;  the  motor  room ;  and  the  com- 
partment containing  the  steering-gear.  The  projectile 
has  a  high  speed  and  long  range — over  four  thousand 
yards.  It  can  twist  and  turn  in  any  direction,  and,  if 
need  be,  be  called  to  heel.  Like  the  Brennan,  it  has 
the  disadvantage  of  a  long  trailing  wire,  which  could 
easily  become  entangled ;  and  it  might  be  put  out  of 
action  by  any  damage  inflicted  on  its  float  by  the 
enemy's  guns.  But  it  is  likely  to  prove  a  very  effective 
harbour-guard  if  brought  to  the  test. 

In  passing  to  the  Orling-Armstrong  torpedo  we 
enter  the  latest  phase  of  torpedo  construction.  Seeing 
the  disadvantages  arising  from  wires,  electricians  have 
sought  a  means  of  controlling  torpedoes  without  any 
tangible  connection.  Wireless  telegraphy  showed  that 
such  a  means  was  not  beyond  the  bounds  of  possi- 
bility. Mr.  Axel  Orling,  a  Swede,  working  in  concert 
with  Mr.  J.  T.  Armstrong,  has  lately  proved  that  a 
torpedo  can  be  steered  by  waves  of  energy  transmitted 
along  rays  of  light,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  more  cor- 
rect to  say  along  shafts  of  a  form  of  X-rays. 

Mr.  Orling  claims  for  his  torpedo  that  it  is  capable 
of  a  speed  of  twenty-two  knots  or  more  an  hour ;  that 
it  can  be  called  to  heel,  and  steered  to  right  or  left  at 
will ;  that  as  long  as  it  is  in  sight  it  is  controllable  by 

138 


Dirigible  Torpedoes 

rays  invisible  to  the  enemy ;  that  not  merely  one,  but 
a  number  of  torpedoes  can  be  directed  by  the  same 
beams  of  light ;  that,  as  it  is  submerged,  it  would,  even 
if  detected,  be  a  bad  mark  for  the  enemy's  guns. 

The  torpedo  carries  a  shaft  which  projects  above 
the  water,  and  bears  on  its  upper  end  a  white  disc  to 
receive  the  rays  and  transmit  them  to  internal  motors 
to  be  transmuted  into  driving  power.  The  rod  also 
carries  at  night  an  electric  light,  shaded  on  the  enemy's 
side,  but  rendering  the  whereabouts  of  the  torpedo 
very  visible  to  the  steerer. 

Mr.  Orling*s  torpedo  acts  throughout  in  a  cruelly 
calculating  manner.  Before  its  attack  a  ship  would 
derive  small  advantage  from  a  crinoline  of  steel  nett- 
ing ;  for  the  large  torpedo  conceals  in  its  head  a 
smaller  torpedo,  which,  as  soon  as  the  netting  is 
struck,  darts  out  and  blasts  an  opening  through  which 
its  longer  brother,  after  a  momentary  delay,  can  easily 
follow.  The  netting  penetrated,  the  torpedo  has  yet 
to  strike  twice  before  exploding.  On  the  first  impact, 
a  pin,  projecting  from  the  nose,  is  driven  in  to  reverse 
the  engines,  and  at  the  same  time  a  certain  nut  com- 
mences to  travel  along  a  screw.  The  nut  having 
worked  its  way  to  the  end  of  the  thread,  the  head  of 
the  torpedo  fills  slowly  through  a  valve,  giving  it  a 
downward  slant  in  front.  The  engines  are  again 
reversed  and  the  nut  again  travels,  this  time  bringing 
the  head  of  the  torpedo  up,  so  as  to  strike  the  vessel 
at  a  very  effective  angle  from  below. 

This  torpedo  has  passed  beyond  the  experimental 

139 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

stage.  It  is  reported  that  by  command  of  the  Swedish 
Government,  to  whom  Mr.  OrHng  offered  his  inven- 
tion, and  of  the  King,  who  takes  a  keen  interest  in  the 
ideas  of  his  young  countryman,  a  number  of  experi- 
ments were  some  time  ago  carried  out  in  the  Swedish 
rivers.  Torpedoes  were  sent  2J  miles,  directed  as 
desired,  and  made  to  rise  or  sink — all  this  without 
any  tangible  connection.  The  Government  was  suffi- 
ciently satisfied  with  the  result  to  take  up  the  patents, 
as  furnishing  a  cheap  means  of  defending  their  coasts. 
Mr.  Orling  has  described  what  he  imagines  would 
happen  in  case  of  an  attack  on  a  position  protected 
by  his  ingenious  creations.  *^  Suppose  that  I  had 
twelve  torpedoes  hidden  away  under  ten  feet  of 
water  in  a  convenient  little  cove,  and  that  I  was 
directed  to  annihilate  a  hostile  fleet  just  appearing 
above  the  horizon.  Before  me,  on  a  little  table  per- 
haps, I  should  have  my  apparatus ;  twelve  buttons 
would  be  under  my  fingers.  Against  each  button 
there  would  be  a  description  of  the  torpedo  to  which 
it  was  connected ;  it  would  tell  me  its  power  of  de- 
struction, and  the  power  of  its  machinery,  and  for 
what  distance  it  would  go.  On  each  button,  also, 
would  be  indicated  the  time  that  I  must  press  it  to 
release  the  torpedoes.  Well  now,  I  perceive  a  large 
vessel  in  the  van  of  the  approaching  fleet.  I  put  my 
fingers  on  the  button  which  is  connected  with  my 
largest  and  most  formidable  weapon.  I  press  the 
button — perhaps  for  twelve  seconds.  The  torpedo  is 
pushed  forward  from  its  fastenings  by  a  special  spring, 

140 


Dirigible  Torpedoes 

a  small  pin  is  extracted  from  it,  and  immediately  the 
motive  machinery  is  set  in  motion,  and  underneath 
the  water  goes  my  little  agent  of  destruction,  and 
there  is  nothing  to  tell  the  ship  of  its  doom.  I  place 
my  hand  on  another  button,  and  according  to  the 
time  I  press  it  I  steer  the  torpedo  ;  the  rudder  answers 
to  the  rays,  and  the  rays  answer  to  the  will  of  my 
mind."  1 

If  this  torpedo  acts  fully  up  to  its  author's  expecta- 
tions, naval  warfare,  at  least  as  at  present  conducted, 
will  be  impossible.  There  appears  to  be  no  reason 
why  this  torpedo  should  not  be  worked  from  ship- 
board ;  and  we  cannot  imagine  that  hostile  ships 
possessing  such  truly  infernal  machines  would  care 
to  approach  within  miles  of  one  another,  especially 
if  the  submarine  be  reinforced  by  the  aerial  torpedo, 
different  patterns  of  which  are  in  course  of  construc- 
tion by  Mr.  Orling  and  Major  Unge,  a  brother  Swede. 
The  Orling  type  will  be  worked  by  the  new  rays, 
strong  enough  to  project  it  through  space.  Major 
Unge's  will  depend  for  its  motive  power  upon  a 
succession  of  impulses  obtained  by  the  ignition  of  a 
slow-burning  gas,  passing  through  a  turbine  in  the 
rear  of  the  torpedo.  The  inventor  hopes  for  a  range 
of  at  least  six  miles. 

What  defence  would  be  possible  against  such 
missiles  ?  Liable  to  be  shattered  from  below,  or 
shivered  from  above,  the  warship  will  be  placed  at 
an  ever-increasing  disadvantage.      Its   size  will  only 

*  Pearson's  Magazine, 
141 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

render  it  an  easier  mark ;  its  strength,  bought  at  the 
expense  of  weight,  will  be  but  the  means  of  insuring 
a  quicker  descent  to  the  sea's  bottom.  Is  it  not 
probable  that  sea-fights  will  become  more  and  more 
matters  of  a  few  terrible,  quickly-delivered  blows  ? 
Human  inventions  will  hold  the  balance  more  and 
more  evenly  between  nations  of  unequal  size,  first  on 
sea,  then  on  land,  until  at  last,  as  we  may  hope, 
even  the  hottest  heads  and  bravest  hearts  will  shrink 
from  courting  what  will  be  less  war  than  sheer  anni- 
hilation, and  war,  man's  worst  enemy,  will  be  itself 
annihilated. 


142 


SUBMARINE  BOATS. 

The  introduction  of  torpedoes  for  use  against  an 
enemy's  ships  below  the  waterline  has  led  by  natural 
stages  to  the  evolution  of  a  vessel  which  may  approach 
unsuspected  close  enough  to  the  object  of  attack  to 
discharge  its  missile  effectively.  Before  the  search- 
light was  adopted  a  night  surprise  gave  due  conceal- 
ment to  small  craft;  but  now  that  the  gloom  of 
midnight  can  be  in  an  instant  flooded  with  the 
brilliance  of  day  a  more  subtle  mode  of  attack 
becomes  necessary. 

Hence  the  genesis  of  the  submarine  or  submersible 
boat,  so  constructed  as  to  disappear  beneath  the  sea 
at  a  safe  distance  from  the  doomed  ship,  and  when 
its  torpedo  has  been  sped  to  retrace  its  invisible 
course  until  outside  the  radius  of  destruction. 

To  this  end  many  so-called  submarine  boats  have 
been  invented  and  experimented  with  during  recent 
years.  The  idea  is  an  ancient  one  revived,  as  indeed 
are  the  large  proportion  of  our  boasted  modern  dis- 
coveries. 

Aristotle  describes  a  vessel  of  this  kind  Ca  diving-bell 
rather  than  a  boat,  however),  used  in  the  siege  of 
Tyre  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago ;  and  also 
refers  to  the  divers  being  provided  with  an  air-tube, 

143 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

"  like  the  trunk  of  an  elephant,"  by  means  of  which 
they  drew  a  fresh  supply  of  air  from  above  the 
surface — a  contrivance  adopted  in  more  than  one  of 
our  modern  submarines.  Alexander  the  Great  is  said 
to  have  employed  divers  in  warfare  ;  Pliny  speaks  of 
an  ingenious  diving  apparatus,  and  Bacon  refers  to 
air-tubes  used  by  divers.  We  even  find  traces  of 
weapons  of  offence  being  employed.  Calluvius  is 
credited  with  the  invention  of  a  submarine  gun  for 
projecting  Greek  fire. 

The  Bishop  of  Upsala  in  the  sixteenth  century 
gives  a  somewhat  elaborate  description  of  certain 
leather  skiffs  or  boats  used  to  scuttle  ships  by  attack- 
ing them  from  beneath,  two  of  which  he  claims  to 
have  personally  examined.  In  1629  we  read  that  the 
Barbary  corsairs  fixed  submarine  torpedoes  to  the 
enemy's  keel  by  means  of  divers. 

As  early  as  1579  an  English  gunner  named  William 
Bourne  patented  a  submarine  boat  of  his  own  inven- 
tion fitted  with  leather  joints,  so  contrived  as  to  be 
made  smaller  or  larger  by  the  action  of  screws, 
ballasted  with  water,  and  having  an  air-pipe  as  mast. 
The  Campbell- Ash  submarine  tried  in  1885  was  on 
much  the  same  principle. 

Cornelius  van  Drebbel,  an  ingenious  Dutchman  who 
settled  in  England  before  1600,  produced  certain  sub- 
mersible vessels  and  obtained  for  them  the  patronage 
of  two  kings.  He  claims  to  have  discovered  a  means 
of  re-oxygenating  the  foul  air  and  so  enabling  his 
craft  to  remain  a  long  time  below  water ;  whether 

144 


'/ 


The  ''Holland"  Submarine  Boat 


[To  face  f.  144. 


Submarine  Boats 

this  was  done  by  chemical  treatment,  compressed  air, 
or  by  surface  tubes  no  record  remains.  Drebbel's 
success  was  such  that  he  was  allowed  to  experiment 
in  the  Thames,  and  James  I.  accompanied  him  on  one 
of  his  sub-aquatic  journeys.  In  1626  Charles  I.  gave 
him  an  order  to  make  *^  boates  to  go  under  water,"  as 
well  as  "  water  mines,  water  petards,"  &c.,  presumably 
for  the  campaign  against  France,  but  we  do  not  hear 
of  these  weapons  of  destruction  being  actually  used 
upon  this  occasion. 

These  early  craft  seem  to  have  been  generally 
moved  by  oars  working  in  air-tight  leather  sockets ; 
but  one  constructed  at  Rotterdam  about  1654  was 
furnished  with  a  paddle-wheel. 

Coming  now  nearer  to  our  own  times,  we  find  that 
an  American  called  Bushnell  had  a  like  inspiration  in 
1773,  when  he  invented  his  famous  '^Turtles,"  small, 
upright  boats  in  which  one  man  could  sit,  submerge 
himself  by  means  of  leather  bottles  with  the  mouths 
projecting  outside,  propel  himself  with  a  small  set  of 
oars  and  steer  with  an  elementary  rudder.  An  un- 
successful attempt  was  made  to  blow  up  the  English 
fleet  with  one  of  these  "  Turtles  "  carrying  a  torpedo, 
but  the  current  proved  too  strong,  and  the  missile 
exploded  at  a  harmless  distance,  the  operator  being 
finally  rescued  from  an  unpremeditated  sea  -  trip  ! 
Bushnell  was  the  author  of  the  removable  safety-keel 
now  uniformly  adopted. 

Soon  afterwards  another  New  Englander  took  up 
the  running,  Fulton— one  of  the  cleverest  and  least 

145  K 


y 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

appreciated  engineers  of  the  early  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  His  Nautilus y  built  in  the  French 
dockyards,  was  in  many  respects  the  pattern  for  our 
own  modern  submarines.  The  cigar-shaped  copper 
hull,  supported  by  iron  ribs,  was  twenty-four  feet  four 
inches  long,  with  a  greatest  diameter  of  seven  feet. 
Propulsion  came  from  a  wheel,  rotated  by  a  hand 
winch,  in  the  centre  of  the  stern;  forward  was  a 
small  conning-tower,  and  the  boat  was  steered  by  a 
rudder.  There  was  a  detachable  keel  below ;  and 
fitted  into  groves  on  the  top  were  a  collapsible  mast 
and  sail  for  use  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  An 
anchor  was  also  carried  externally.  In  spite  of  the 
imperfect  materials  at  his  disposal  Fulton  had  much 
success.  At  Brest  he  took  a  crew  of  three  men 
twenty-five  feet  down,  and  on  another  day  blew  up 
an  old  hulk.  In  the  Seine  two  men  went  down  for 
twenty  minutes  and  steered  back  to  their  starting- 
point  under  water.  He  also  put  in  air  at  high  pres- 
sure and  remained  submerged  for  hours.  But  France, 
England,  and  his  own  country  in  turn  rejected  his 
invention  ;  and,  completely  discouraged,  he  bent  his 
energies  to  designing  boat  engines  instead. 

In  1821  Captain  Johnson,  also  an  American,  made 
a  submersible  vessel  100  feet  long,  designed  to  fetch 
Napoleon  from  St.  Helena,  travelling  for  the  most 
part  upon  the  surface.  This  expedition  never  came 
off. 

Two  later  inventions,  by  Castera  and  Payerne,  in 
T827  and  1846  respectively,  were  intended  for  more 

146 


Submarine  Boats 

peaceful  objects.  Being  furnished  with  diving-cham- 
bers, the  occupants  could  retrieve  things  from  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  ;  Castera  providing  his  boat  with 
an  air-tube  to  the  surface. 

Bauer,  another  inventor,  lived  for  some  years  in 
England  under  the  patronage  of  Prince  Albert,  who 
supplied  him  with  funds  for  his  experiments.  With 
Brunei's  help  he  built  a  vessel  which  was  indiscreetly 
modified  by  the  naval  authorities,  and  finally  sank  and 
drowned  its  crew.  Going  then  to  Russia  he  con- 
structed sundry  submarines  for  the  navy  ;  but  was  in 
the  end  thrown  over,  and,  like  Fulton,  had  to  turn 
himself  to  other  employment. 

The  fact  is  that  up  to  this  period  the  cry  for  a 
practical  submarine  to  use  in  warfare  had  not  yet 
arisen,  or  these  inventions  would  have  met  wuth  a  far 
different  reception.  Within  the  last  half  century  all 
has  changed.  America  and  France  now  rival  each 
other  in  construction,  while  the  other  nations  of 
Europe  look  on  with  intelligent  interest,  and  in  turn 
make  their  contributions  towards  solving  the  problem 
of  under-wave  propulsion. 

America  led  the  way  during  the  Civil  War  blockades 
in  1864,  when  the  Housatonic  was  sunk  in  Charleston 
harbour,  and  damage  done  to  other  ships.  But  these 
experimental  torpedo-boats  were  clumsy  contrivances 
compared  with  their  modern  successors,  for  they 
could  only  carry  their  destructive  weapon  at  the  end 
of  a  spar  projecting  from  the  bows — to  be  exploded 
upon  contact  with  the  obstacle,  and  probably  involve 

147 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  aggressor  in  a  common  ruin.  So  nothing  more 
was  done  till  the  perfecting  of  the  Whitehead  torpedo 
(see  Dirigible  Torpedoes)  gave  the  required  impetus  to 
fresh  enterprise. 

France,  experimenting  in  the  same  direction,  pro- 
duced in  1889  Goubet's  submarine,  patent  of  a  private 
inventor,  who  has  also  been  patronised  by  other  navies. 
These  are  very  small  boats,  the  first,  16 J  feet  long, 
carrying  a  crew  of  two  or  three  men.  Goubet  No,  2, 
built  in  1899,  is  26J  feet  long,  composed  of  several 
layers  of  gun-metal  united  by  strong  screw-bolts,  and 
so  able  to  resist  very  great  pressure.  They  are  egg- 
or  spindle-shaped,  supplied  with  compressed  air,  able 
to  sink  and  rise  by  rearrangement  of  water  -  ballast. 
Reservoirs  in  the  hull  are  gradually  filled  for  sub- 
mersion with  water,  which  is  easily  expelled  when  it 
is  desired  to  rise  again.  If  this  system  goes  wrong  a 
false  keel  of  thirty-six  hundredweight  can  be  detached 
and  the  boat  springs  up  to  the  surface.  The  pro- 
pulsive force  is  electricity,  which  works  the  driving- 
screw  at  the  rear,  and  the  automobile  torpedo  is 
discharged  from  its  tube  by  compressed  air. 

*^  By  the  aid  of  an  optical  tube,  which  a  pneumatic 
telescopic  apparatus  enables  the  operator  to  thrust 
above  the  surface  and  pull  down  in  a  moment,  the 
captain  of  the  Goubet  can,  when  near  the  surface,  see 
what  is  going  on  all  round  him.  This  telescope  has 
a  system  of  prisms  and  lenses  which  cause  the  image 
of  the  sea-surface  to  be  deflected  down  to  the  eye  of 
the  observer  below, 

148 


Submarine  Boats 

*'  Fresh  air  for  the  crew  is  provided  by  reservoirs  of 
oxygen,  and  accumulations  of  foul  air  can  be  expelled 
by  means  of  a  small  pump.  Enough  fresh  air  can  be 
compressed  into  the  reservoirs  to  last  the  crew  for  a 
week  or  more." 

The  Gymnote,  laid  down  in  1898,  is  more  than 
double  the  size  of  the  Goubet ;  it  is  cigar-shaped, 
29  feet  long  by  6  feet  diameter,  with  a  displacement 
of  thirty  tons.  The  motive  power  is  also  electricity 
stored  in  accumulators  for  use  during  submersion, 
and  the  speed  expected — but  not  realised — was  to 
be  ten  knots. 

Five  years  later  this  type  was  improved  upon  in  the 
Gustave  ZMe,  the  largest  submarine  ever  yet  designed. 
This  boat,  built  of  phosphor-bronze,  with  a  single 
screw,  measures  131  feet  in  length  and  has  a  displace- 
ment of  266  tons  ;  she  can  contain  a  crew  of  nine 
officers  and  men,  carries  three  torpedoes  —  though 
with  one  torpedo  tube  instead  of  two — has  a  lightly 
armoured  conning-tower,  and  is  said  to  give  a  surface 
speed  of  thirteen  knots  and  to  make  eight  knots  when 
submerged.  At  a  trial  of  her  powers  made  in  the  pre- 
sence of  M.  Lockroy,  Minister  of  Marine,  she  affixed 
an  unloaded  torpedo  to  the  battleship  Magenta  and 
got  away  unobserved.  The  whole  performance  of  the 
boat  on  that  occasion  was  declared  to  be  most  suc- 
cessful. But  its  cost  proved  excessive  considering 
the  small  radius  of  action  obtainable,  and  a  smaller 
vessel  of  the  same  type,  the  Morse  (118x9  feet),  is 
now  the  official  size  for  that  particular  class. 

149 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

In  1896  a  competition  was  held  and  won  by  the 
submersible  Narval  of  M.  Laubeuf,  a  craft  shaped 
much  like  the  ordinary  torpedo-boat.  On  the  surface 
or  awash  the  Narval  works  by  means  of  a  Brule 
engine  burning  oil  fuel  to  heat  its  boilers  ;  but  when 
submerged  for  attack  with  funnel  shut  down  is  driven 
by  electric  accumulators.  She  displaces  100  odd  tons 
and  is  provided  with  four  Dzewiecki  torpedo  tubes. 
Her  radius  of  action,  steaming  awash,  is  calculated 
at  some  250  miles,  or  seventy  miles  when  proceeding 
under  water  at  five  knots  an  hour.  This  is  the  parent 
of  another  class  of  boats  designed  for  offensive  tactics, 
while  the  Morse  type  is  adapted  chiefly  for  coast  and 
harbour  defence.  The  French  navy  includes  altogether 
thirty  submarine  craft,  though  several  of  these  are 
only  projected  at  present,  and  none  have  yet  been  put 
to  the  practical  tests  of  actual  warfare — the  torpedoes 
used  in  experimenting  being,  of  course,  blank. 

Meanwhile  in  America  experiments  have  also  been 
proceeding  since  1887,  when  Mr.  Holland  of  New 
York  produced  the  vessel  that  bears  his  name.  This, 
considerably  modified,  has  now  been  adopted  as  model 
by  our  Navy  Department,  which  is  building  some  half- 
dozen  on  very  similar  lines.  Though  it  is  not  easy  to 
get  any  definite  particulars  concerning  French  sub- 
marines Americans  are  less  reticent,  and  we  have 
graphic  accounts  of  the  Holland  and  her  offspring 
from  those  who  have  visited  her. 

These  vessels,  though  cigar-shaped  liked  most  others, 
in  some  respects  resemble  the  Narval^  being  intended 

150 


An  interior  vieiv  of  the  ''Holland."  The  large  peudnlum  on  the  right 
actuates  mechanism  to  keep  the  Submarine  at  the  reqnired  depth 
below  the  surface. 

[To  face  p.  150. 


Submarine  Boats 

for  long  runs  on  the  surface,  when  they  burn  oil  in  a 
four -cylinder  gasolene  engine  of  i6o  horse -power. 
Under  water  they  are  propelled  by  an  electric  water- 
proof motor  of  seventy  horse-power,  and  proceed  at 
a  pace  of  seven  knots  per  hour.  There  is  a  super- 
structure for  deck,  with  a  funnel  for  the  engine  and 
a  small  conning-tower  protected  by  4-inch  armour. 
The  armament  carried  comprises  five  18-inch  White- 
head torpedoes,  11  feet  8  inches  long.  One  hundred 
and  twenty  tons  is  the  displacement,  including  tank 
capacity  for  850  gallons  of  gasolene ;  the  full  length 
is  63  feet  4  inches,  with  a  beam  of  11  feet  9  inches. 

The  original  Holland  boat  is  thus  described  by  an 
adventurous  correspondent  who  took  a  trip  in  her  ^ : 
"  The  Holland  is  fifty-three  feet  long,  and  in  its  widest 
part  it  is  loj  feet  in  diameter.  It  has  a  displacement 
of  seventy -four  tons,  and  what  is  called  a  reserve 
buoyancy  of  2J  tons  which  tends  to  make  it  come  to 
the  surface. 

"The  frames  of  the  boat  are  exact  circles  of  steel. 
They  are  set  a  little  more  than  a  foot  apart.  They 
diminish  gradually  in  diameter  from  the  centre  of  the 
boat  to  the  bow  and  stern.  On  the  top  of  the  boat  a 
flat  superstructure  is  built  to  afford  a  walking  plat- 
form, and  under  this  are  spaces  for  exhaust  pipes  and 
for  the  external  outfit  of  the  boat,  such  as  ropes  and 
a  small  anchor.  The  steel  plates  which  cover  the 
frame  are  from  one-half  to  three-eighths  of  an  inch 
in  thickness. 

'  PearsorCs  Magazine. 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

"  From  what  may  be  called  the  centre  of  the  boat 
a  turret  extends  upwards  through  the  superstructure 
for  about  eighteen  inches.  It  is  two  feet  in  diameter, 
and  is  the  only  means  of  entrance  to  the  boat.  It 
is  the  place  from  which  the  boat  is  operated.  At 
the  stern  is  an  ordinary  three-bladed  propeller  and 
an  ordinary  rudder,  and  in  addition  there  are  two 
horizontal  rudders — "  diving-rudders  "  they  are  called 
— which  look  like  the  feet  of  a  duck  spread  out 
behind  as  it  swims  along  the  water, 

"  From  the  bow  two-thirds  of  the  way  to  the  stern 
there  is  a  flooring,  beneath  which  are  the  storage 
batteries,  the  tank  for  the  gasolene,  and  the  tanks 
which  are  filled  with  water  for  submerging ;  in  the 
last  one-third  of  the  boat  the  flooring  drops  away,  and 
the  space  is  occupied  by  the  propelling  machinery. 

^*  There  are  about  a  dozen  openings  in  the  boat, 
the  chief  being  three  Kingston  valves,  by  means  of 
which  the  submerging  tanks  are  filled  or  emptied. 
Others  admit  water  to  pressure  gauges,  which  regu- 
late or  show  the  depth  of  the  vessel  under  water. 
There  are  twelve  deadlights  in  the  top  and  sides  of 
the  craft.  To  remain  under  water  the  boat  must  be 
kept  in  motion,  unless  an  anchor  is  used. 

^^  It  can  be  steered  to  the  surface  by  the  diving 
rudders,  or  sent  flying  to  the  top  through  emptying 
the  storage  tanks.  If  it  strikes  bottom,  or  gets  stuck 
in  the  mud,  it  can  blow  itself  loose  by  means  of  its 
compressed  air.  It  cannot  be  sunk  unless  pierced 
above  the  flooring.     It  has  a  speed  capacity  of  from 

152 


Submarine  Boats 

eight  to  ten  knots  either  on  the  surface  or  under 
water. 

'^It  can  go  1500  miles  on  the  surface  without  re- 
newing its  supply  of  gasolene.  It  can  go  fully  forty 
knots  under  water  without  coming  to  the  surface, 
and  there  is  enough  compressed  air  in  the  tanks  to 
supply  a  crew  with  fresh  air  for  thirty  hours,  if  the 
air  is  not  used  for  any  other  purpose,  such  as  empty- 
ing the  submerging  tanks.  It  can  dive  to  a  depth 
of  twenty  feet  in  eight  seconds. 

"The  interior  is  simply  packed  with  machinery. 
As  you  climb  down  the  turret  you  are  confronted 
with  it  at  once.  There  is  a  diminutive  compass  which 
must  be  avoided  carefully  by  the  feet.  A  pressure 
gauge  is  directly  in  front  of  the  operator's  eye  as 
he  stands  in  position.  There  are  speaking-tubes  to 
various  parts  of  the  boat,  and  a  signal-bell  to  the 
engine-room. 

"As  the  operator's  hands  hang  by  his  sides,  he 
touches  a  wheel  on  the  port  side,  by  turning  which  he 
steers  the  little  vessel,  and  one  on  the  starboard  side, 
by  turning  which  he  controls  the  diving  machinery. 
After  the  top  is  clamped  down  the  operator  can  look 
out  through  plate-glass  windows,  about  one  inch  wide 
and  three  inches  long,  which  encircle  the  turret. 

"So  long  as  the  boat  is  running  on  the  surface 
these  are  valuable,  giving  a  complete  view  of  the  sur- 
roundings if  the  water  is  smooth.  After  the  boat 
goes  beneath  the  surface,  these  windows  are  useless ; 
it  is  impossible  to  see  through  the  water.     Steering 

153 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

must  be  done  by  compass ;  until  recently  considered 
an  impossible  task  in  a  submarine  boat.  A  tiny 
electric  light  in  the  turret  shows  the  operator  the 
direction  in  which  he  is  going,  and  reveals  the  mark- 
ings on  the  depth  gauges.  If  the  boat  should  pass 
under  an  object,  such  as  a  ship,  a  perceptible  shadow 
would  be  noticed  through  the  deadlights,  but  that 
is  all.  The  ability  to  see  fishes  swimming  about  in 
the  water  is  a  pleasant  fiction. 

*'  The  only  clear  space  in  the  body  of  the  boat  is 
directly  in  front  of  the  bench  on  which  the  man  in 
the  turret  is  standing.  It  is  where  the  eighteen-inch 
torpedo-tube,  and  the  eight  and  five-eighths  inch  aerial 
gun  are  loaded, 

<*  Along  the  sides  of  this  open  space  are  six  com- 
pressed-air tanks,  containing  thirty  cubic  feet  of  air 
at  a  pressure  of  2000  lbs.  to  a  square  inch.  Near 
by  is  a  smaller  tank,  containing  three  cubic  feet  of 
air  at  a  fifty  pounds  pressure.  A  still  smaller  tank 
contains  two  cubic  feet  of  air  at  a  ten  pounds  pressure. 
These  smaller  tanks  supply  the  compressed  air  which, 
with  the  smokeless  powder,  is  used  in  discharging 
the  projectiles  from  the  boat. 

'*  Directly  behind  the  turret,  up  against  the  roof 
on  the  port  side,  is  the  little  engine  by  which  the 
vessel  is  steered  ;  it  is  worked  by  compressed  air. 
Fastened  to  the  roof  on  the  starboard  side  is  the 
diving-engine,  with  discs  that  look  as  large  as  dinner- 
plates  stood  on  end.  These  discs  are  diaphragms  on 
which  the  water-pressure  exerts  an  influence,  counter- 

154 


Submarine  Boats 

acting  certain  springs  which  are  set  to  keep  the  diving 
rudders  at  a  given  pitchy  and  thus  insuring  an  immer- 
sion of  an  exact  depth  during  a  run. 

**At  one  side  is  a  cubic  steel  box — the  air  com- 
pressor ;  and  directly  in  the  centre  of  this  part  of 
the  boat  is  a  long  pendulum,  just  as  there  is  in  the 
ordinary  torpedo,  which,  by  swinging  backwards  and 
forwards  as  the  boat  dives  and  rises,  checks  a  ten- 
dency to  go  too  far  down,  or  to  come  up  at  too 
sharp  an  angle.  On  the  floor  are  the  levers  which, 
when  raised  and  moved  in  certain  directions,  fill  or 
empty  the  submerging  tanks.  On  every  hand  are 
valves  and  wheels  and  pipes  in  such  apparent  con- 
fusion as  to  turn  a  layman's  head. 

'^  There  are  also  pumps  in  the  boat,  a  ventilating 
apparatus,  and  a  sounding  contrivance,  by  means  of 
which  the  channel  is-  picked  out  when  running  under 
water.  This  sounding  contrivance  consists  of  a  heavy 
weight  attached  to  a  piano  wire  passing  from  a  reel 
out  through  a  stufhng-box  in  the  bottom.  There 
are  also  valves  which  release  fresh  air  to  the  crew, 
although  in  ordinary  runs  of  from  one-half  to  one 
hour  this  is  not  necessary,  the  fresh  air  received  from 
the  various  exhausts  in  the  boat  being  sufficient  to 
supply  all  necessities  in  that  length  of  time." 

Another  submersible  of  somewhat  different  design 
is  the  production  of  the  Swedish  inventor,  Mr.  Nor- 
denfelt.  This  boat  is  9J  metres  in  length,  and  has  a 
displacement  of  sixty  tons.  Like  the  Goubet  it  sinks 
only   in    a    horizontal    position,   while    the    Holland 

15s 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

plunges  downward  at  a  slight  angle.  On  the  surface 
a  steam-engine  of  lOO  horse-power  propels  it,  and 
when  the  funnel  is  closed  down  and  the  vessel  sub- 
merges itself,  the  screws  are  still  driven  by  super- 
heated steam  from  the  large  reservoir  of  water  boiling 
at  high  pressure  which  maintains  a  constant  supply, 
three  circulation  pumps  keeping  this  in  touch  with  the 
boiler.  The  plunge  is  accomplished  by  means  of  two 
protected  screws,  and  when  they  cease  to  move  the 
reserve  buoyancy  of  the  boat  brings  it  back  to  the 
surface.  It  is  steered  by  a  rudder  which  a  pendulum 
regulates.  The  most  modern  of  these  boats  is  of 
English  manufacture,  built  at  Barrow,  and  tried  in 
Southampton  Water. 

The  vessels  hitherto  described  should  be  termed 
submersible  rather  than  submarine,  as  they  are  de- 
signed to  usually  proceed  on  the  surface,  and  sub- 
merge themselves  only  for  action  when  in  sight  of 
the  enemy. 

American  ingenuity  has  produced  an  absolutely 
unique  craft  to  which  the  name  submarine  may  with 
real  appropriateness  be  applied,  for,  sinking  in  water 
100  feet  deep,  it  can  remain  below  and  run  upon  three 
wheels  along  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  This  is  the 
Argonaut,  invented  by  Mr.  Simon  Lake  of  Baltimore, 
and  its  main  portion  consists  of  a  steel  framework  of 
cylindrical  form  which  is  surmounted  by  a  flat,  hollow 
steel  deck.  During  submersion  the  deck  is  filled  with 
water  and  thus  saved  from  being  crushed  by  outside 
pressure  as  well  as  helping  to  sink  the  craft. 

156 


Submarine  Boats 

When  moving  on  the  surface  it  has  the  appearance 
of  an  ordinary  ship,  with  its  two  light  masts,  a  small 
conning-tower  on  which  is  the  steering-wheel,  bow- 
sprit, ventilators,  a  derrick,  suction-pump,  and  two 
anchors.  A  gasolene  engine  of  special  design  is  used 
for  both  surface  and  submerged  cruising  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances,  but  in  time  of  war  storage  batteries 
are  available.  An  electric  dynamo  supplies  light  to 
the  whole  interior,  including  a  4000  candle-power 
searchlight  in  the  extreme  bow  which  illuminates 
the  pathway  while  under  water. 

On  the  boat  being  stopped  and  the  order  given 
to  submerge,  the  crew  first  throw  out  sounding 
lines  to  make  sure  of  the  depth.  They  then  close 
down  external  openings,  and  retreat  into  the  boat 
through  the  conning-tower,  within  which  the  helms- 
man takes  his  stand,  continuing  to  steer  as  easily  as 
when  outside.  The  valves  which  fill  the  deck  and 
submersion  tanks  are  opened,  and  the  Argonaut  drops 
gently  to  the  floor  of  the  ocean.  The  two  apparent 
masts  are  in  reality  3-inch  iron  pipes  which  rise  thirty 
feet  or  more  above  the  deck,  and  so  long  as  no  greater 
depth  is  attained,  they  supply  the  occupants  with  fresh 
air  and  let  exhausted  gases  escape,  but  close  automa- 
tically when  the  water  reaches  their  top. 

Once  upon  the  bottom  of  the  sea  this  versatile 
submarine  begins  its  journey  as  a  tricycle.  It  is 
furnished  with  a  driving-wheel  on  either  side,  each  of 
which  is  6|  feet  in  diameter  and  weighs  5000  lbs. ; 
and  is  guided  by  a  third  wheel  weighing  2000  lbs. 

157 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

journalled  in  the  rudder.  On  a  hard  bottom  or  against 
a  strong  tide  the  wheels  are  most  effective  owing  to 
their  weight,  but  in  passing  through  soft  sand  or  mud 
the  screw  propeller  pushes  the  boat  along,  the  driving- 
wheels  running  ^^  loose."  In  this  way  she  can  travel 
through  even  waist-deep  mud,  the  screw  working  more 
strongly  than  on  the  surface,  because  it  has  such  a 
weight  of  water  to  help  it,  and  she  moves  more  easily 
uphill. 

In  construction  the  Argonaut  is  shaped  something 
like  a  huge  cigar,  her  strong  steel  frames,  spaced  twenty 
inches  apart,  being  clad  with  steel  plates  f-inch  thick 
double  riveted  over  them.  Great  strength  is  neces- 
sary to  resist  the  pressure  of  superincumbent  water, 
which  at  a  depth  of  loo  feet  amounts  to  44  lbs,  per 
square  inch. 

Originally  she  was  built  36  feet  long,  but  was  subse- 
quently lengthened  by  some  20  odd  feet,  and  has  9 
feet  beam.  She  weighs  fifty-seven  tons  when  sub- 
merged. A  false  section  of  keel,  4000  lbs.  in  weight, 
can  on  emergency  be  instantly  released  from  inside  ; 
and  two  downhaul  weights,  each  of  1000  lbs.,  are 
used  as  an  extra  precaution  for  safety  when  sinking 
in  deep  water. 

The  interior  is  divided  into  various  compartments, 
the  living  quarters  consisting  of  the  cabin,  galley, 
operating  chamber  and  engine-room.  There  are  also 
a  division  containing  stores  and  telephone,  the  in- 
termediate, and  the  divers'  room.  The  ''operating" 
room    contains    the    levers,   handwheels,   and    other 

158 


Submarine  Boats 

mechanism  by  which  the  boat's  movements  are 
governed.  A  water  gauge  shows  her  exact  depth 
below  the  surface;  a  dial  on  either  side  indicates 
any  inclination  from  the  horizontal.  Certain  levers 
open  the  valves  which  admit  water  to  the  ballast- 
tanks  in  the  hold ;  another  releases  the  false  keel ; 
there  is  a  cyclometer  to  register  the  wheel  travelling, 
and  other  gauges  mark  the  pressure  of  steam,  speed  of 
engines,  &c. 

A  compass  in  the  conning-tower  enables  the  navi- 
gator to  steer  a  true  course  whether  above  or  below 
the  surface.  This  conning-tower,  only  six  feet  high, 
rises  above  the  centre  of  the  living  quarters,  and  is 
of  steel  with  small  windows  in  the  upper  part.  En- 
circling it  to  about  three-quarters  of  its  height  is  a 
reservoir  for  gasolene,  which  feeds  into  a  smaller  tank 
within  the  boat  for  consumption.  The  compressed 
air  is  stored  in  two  Mannesmann  steel  reservoirs  which 
have  been  tested  to  a  pressure  of  4000  lbs.  per  square 
inch.  This  renews  the  air-supply  for  the  crew  when 
the  Argonaut  is  long  below,  and  also  enables  the 
diving  operations  to  be  carried  on. 

The  maximum  speed  at  which  the  Argonaut  travels 
submerged  is  five  knots  an  hour,  and  when  she  has 
arrived  at  her  destination — say  a  sunken  coal  steamer 
— the  working  party  pass  into  the  "intermediate" 
chamber,  whose  air-tight  doors  are  then  closed.  A 
current  of  compressed  air  is  then  turned  on  until  the 
air  is  equal  in  pressure  to  that  in  the  divers'  room. 
The  doors  of  this  close  over  indiarubber  to  be  air  and 

159 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

water-tight;  one  communicates  with  the  *' intermedi- 
ate," the  other  is  a  trap  which  opens  downwards  into 
the  sea.  Through  three  windows  in  the  prow  those 
remaining  in  the  room  can  watch  operations  outside 
within  a  radius  varying  according  to  the  clearness  of 
the  water.  The  divers  assume  their  suits,  to  the 
helmets  of  which  a  telephone  is  attached,  so  arranged 
that  they  are  able  to  talk  to  each  other  as  well  as  to 
those  in  the  boat.  They  are  also  provided  with  elec- 
tric lamps,  and  a  brilliant  flood  of  light  streams  upon 
them  from  the  bows  of  the  vessel.  The  derrick  can 
be  used  with  ease  under  water,  and  the  powerful 
suction-pump  will  "  retrieve  "  coal  from  a  submerged 
vessel  into  a  barge  above  at  the  rate  of  sixty  tons  per 
hour. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  how  valuable  a  boat  of  this  kind 
may  be  for  salvage  operations,  as  well  as  for  surveying 
the  bottom  of  harbours,  river  mouths,  sea  coasts,  and 
so  on.  In  war  time  it  can  lay  or  examine  submarine 
mines  for  harbour  defence,  or,  if  employed  offensively, 
can  enter  the  enemy's  harbour  with  no  chance  of 
detection,  and  there  destroy  his  mines  or  blow  up  his 
ships  with  perfect  impunity. 

To  return  the  Argonaut  to  the  surface  it  is  only 
necessary  to  force  compressed  air  into  the  space 
below  the  deck  and  the  four  tanks  in  the  hold.  Her 
buoyancy  being  thus  gradually  restored  she  rises 
slowly  and  steadily  till  she  is  again  afloat  upon  the 
water,  and  steams  for  land. 

We  have  now  glanced  briefly  at  some  of  the  most 

1 60 


iteVii'MfiLl". 


The  -  HoUamr'  Snbiiiariiic  in  the  last  stages  of 
siibiiiersioii. 

[To  face  p.  i6o. 


Submarine  Boats 

interesting  attempts — out  of  many  dozens — to  produce 
a  practicable  submarine  vessel  in  bygone  days ;  and 
have  inquired  more  closely  into  the  construction  of 
several  modern  designs ;  among  these  the  Holland 
has  received  especial  attention,  as  that  is  the  model 
adopted  by  our  xA.dmiralty,  and  our  own  new  boats 
only  differ  in  detail  from  their  American  prototype. 
But  before  quitting  this  subject  it  will  be  well  to  con- 
sider what  is  required  from  the  navigating  engineer, 
and  how  far  present  invention  has  supplied  the  de- 
mand. 

The  perfect  submarine  of  fiction  was  introduced  by 
Jules  Verne,  whose  Nautilus  remains  a  masterpiece  of 
scientific  imagination.  This  marvellous  vessel  ploughed 
the  seas  with  equal  power  and  safety,  whether  on  the 
surface  or  deeply  sunk  beneath  the  waves,  bearing  the 
pressure  of  many  atmospheres.  It  would  rest  upon 
the  ocean  floor  while  its  inmates,  clad  in  diving  suits, 
issued  forth  to  stroll  amid  aquatic  forests  and  scale 
marine  mountains.  It  gathered  fabulous  treasures 
from  pearl  beds  and  sunken  galleons ;  and  could  ram 
and  sink  an  offending  ship  a  thousand  times  its  size 
without  dinting  or  loosening  a  plate  on  its  own  hull. 
No  weather  deflected  its  compass,  no  movement  dis- 
turbed its  equilibrium.  Its  crew  followed  peacefully 
and  cheerfully  in  their  spacious  cabins  a  daily  round 
of  duties  which  electric  power  and  automatic  gear 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  Save  for  the  misadventure 
of  a  shortened  air-supply  when  exploring  the  Polar 
pack,   and    the  clash    of    human    passions.    Captain 

i6i  L 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Nemo's  guests  would  have  voyaged  in  a  floating 
paradise. 

Compare  with  this  entrancing  creation  the  most 
practical  vessels  of  actual  experiment.  They  are 
small,  blind  craft,  groping  their  way  perilously  when 
below  the  surface,  the  steel  and  electrical  machinery 
sadly  interfering  with  any  trustworthy  working  of 
their  compass,  and  the  best  form  of  periscope  hitherto 
introduced  forming  a  very  imperfect  substitute  for 
ordinary  vision. 

Their  speed,  never  very  fast  upon  the  surface,  is 
reduced  by  submersion  to  that  of  the  oldest  and 
slowest  gunboats.  Their  radius  of  action  is  also 
circumscribed — that  is,  they  cannot  carry  supplies 
sufficient  to  go  a  long  distance,  deal  with  a  hostile 
fleet,  and  then  return  to  headquarters  without  re- 
plenishment. 

Furthermore,  there  arise  the  nice  questions  of 
buoyancy  combined  with  stability  when  afloat,  of 
sinking  quickly  out  of  sight,  and  of  keeping  a  correct 
balance  under  water.  The  equilibrium  of  such  small 
vessels  navigating  between  the  surface  and  the  bottom 
is  extremely  sensitive  ;  even  the  movements  to  and 
fro  of  the  crew  are  enough  to  imperil  them.  To 
meet  this  difficulty  the  big  water  -  ballast  tanks, 
engines  and  accumulators  are  necessarily  arranged 
at  the  bottom  of  the  hull,  and  a  pendulum  working 
a  helm  automatically  is  introduced  to  keep  it  longi- 
tudinally stable. 

To  sink  the  boat,  which  is  done  by  changing  the 

162 


Submarine  Boats 

angle  of  the  propeller  in  the  Goubet  and  some  others, 
and  by  means  of  horizontal  rudders  and  vanes  in  the 
Nordenfelt  and  Hollandy  it  must  first  be  most  accu- 
rately balanced,  bow  and  stern  exactly  in  trim.  Then 
the  boat  must  be  put  into  precise  equilibrium  with  the 
water — i.e.  must  weigh  just  the  amount  of  water  dis- 
placed. For  this  its  specific  gravity  must  be  nearly 
the  same  as  that  of  the  water  (whether  salt  or  fresh), 
and  a  small  accident  might  upset  all  calculations. 
Collision,  even  with  a  large  fish,  could  destroy  the 
steering-gear,  and  a  dent  in  the  side  would  also  tend 
to  plunge  it  at  once  to  destruction. 

Did  it  escape  these  dangers  and  succeed  in  steering 
an  accurate  course  to  its  goal,  we  have  up  to  now 
little  practical  proof  that  the  mere  act  of  discharging 
its  torpedo — though  the  weight  of  the  missile  is  in- 
tended to  be  automatically  replaced  immediately  it 
drops  from  the  tube — may  not  suffice  to  send  the 
vessel  either  to  bottom  or  top  of  the  sea.  In  the 
latter  case  it  would  be  within  the  danger  zone  of  its 
alarmed  enemy  and  at  his  mercy,  its  slow  speed  (even 
if  uninjured)  leaving  it  little  chance  of  successful 
flight. 

But  whatever  the  final  result,  one  thing  is  certain, 
that — untried  as  it  is — the  possible  contingency  of  a 
submarine  attack  is  likely  to  shake  the  morale  of  an 
aggressive  fleet. 

*^  When  the  first  submarine  torpedo-boat  goes  into 
action,"  says  Mr.  Holland,  "she  will  bring  us  face  to 
face  with  the  most  perplexing  problem  ever  met  in 

163 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

warfare.  She  will  present  the  unique  spectacle, 
when  used  in  attack,  of  a  weapon  against  which 
there  is  no  defence.  ,  .  .  You  can  send  nothing 
against  the  submarine  boat,  not  even  itself.  .  .  , 
You  cannot  see  under  water,  hence  you  cannot 
fight  under  water.  Hence  you  cannot  defend  your- 
self against  an  attack  under  water  except  by  running 
away." 

This  inventor  is,  however,  an  enthusiast  about  the 
future  awaiting  the  submarine  as  a  social  factor.  His 
boat  has  been  tested  by  long  voyages  on  and  below 
water  with  complete  success.  The  Argonaut  also 
upon  one  occasion  travelled  a  thousand  miles  with 
five  persons,  and  proved  herself  ^^  habitable,  sea- 
worthy, and  under  perfect  control." 

Mr.  Holland  confidently  anticipates  in  the  near 
future  a  Channel  service  of  submerged  boats  run  by 
automatic  steering-gear  upon  cables  stretched  from 
coast  to  coast,  and  eloquently  sums  up  its  advan- 
tages. 

The  passage  would  be  always  practicable,  for  ordi- 
nary interruptions  such  as  fog  and  storms  cannot 
affect  the  sea  depths. 

An  even  temperature  would  prevail  summer  and 
winter,  the  well-warmed  and  lighted  boats  being  also 
free  from  smoke  and  spray. 

No  nauseating  smells  would  proceed  from  the 
evenly-working  electric  engines.  No  motion  cause 
sea-sickness,  no  collision  be  apprehended — as  each 
line  would   run   on   its  own   cable,  and  at   its  own 

164 


Submarine  Boats 

specified  depth,  a  telephone  keeping  it  in  communi- 
cation with  shore. 

In  Hke  manner  a  service  might  be  plied  over 
lake  bottoms,  or  across  the  bed  of  wide  rivers 
whose  surface  is  bound  in  ice.  Such  is  the  sub- 
marine boat  as  hitherto  conceived  for  peace  or 
war — a  daring  project  for  the  coming  generation  to 
justify. 


i65 


ANIMATED   PICTURES. 

Has  it  ever  occurred  to  the  reader  to  ask  himself  why 
rain  appears  to  fall  in  streaks  though  it  arrives  at  earth 
in  drops  ?  Or  why  the  glowing  end  of  a  charred 
stick  produces  fiery  lines  if  waved  about  in  the  dark- 
ness ?  Common  sense  tells  us  the  drop  and  the 
burning  point  cannot  be  in  two  places  at  one  and  the 
same  time.  And  yet  apparently  we  are  able  to  see 
both  in  many  positions  simultaneously. 

This  seeming  paradox  is  due  to  '^  persistence  of 
vision,"  a  phenomenon  that  has  attracted  the  notice 
of  scientific  men  for  many  centuries.  Persistence 
may  be  briefly  explained  thus  : — 

The  eye  is  extremely  sensitive  to  light,  and  will,  as 
is  proved  by  the  visibility  of  the  electric  spark,  lasting 
for  less  than  the  millionth  part  of  a  second,  receive 
impressions  with  marvellous  rapidity. 

But  it  cannot  get  rid  of  these  impressions  at  the 
same  speed.  The  duration  of  a  visual  impression  has 
been  calculated  as  one-tenth  to  one-twenty-first  of  a 
second.  The  electric  spark,  therefore,  appears  to  last 
much  longer  than  it  really  does. 

Hence  it  is  obvious  that  if  a  series  of  impressions 
follow  one  another  more  rapidly  than  the  eye  can  free 

i66 


Animated  Pictures 

itself  of  them,  the  impressions  will  overlap,  and  one  of 
four  results  will  follow. 

{a)  Apparently  uninterrupted  presence  of  an  image  if 
the  same  image  be  repeatedly  represented. 

(b)  Confusion^  if  the  images  be  all  different  and 
disconnected. 

ic)  Combination^  if  the  images  of  two  or  a  very  few 
objects  be  presented  in  regular  rotation. 

{d)  Motion^  if  the  objects  be  similar  in  all  but  one 
part,  which  occupies  a  slightly  different  portion  in 
each  presentation. 

In  connection  with  {c)  an  interesting  story  is  told  of 
Sir  J.  Herschel  by  Charles  Babbage  : — ^ 

"One  day  Herschel,  sitting  with  me  after  dinner, 
amusing  himself  by  spinning  a  pear  upon  the  table, 
suddenly  asked  whether  I  could  show  him  the  two 
sides  of  a  shilling  at  the  same  moment.  I  took  out 
of  my  pocket  a  shilling,  and  holding  it  up  before  the 
looking-glass,  pointed  out  my  method.  '  No,'  said  my 
friend,  ^that  won't  do;'  then  spinning  my  shilling 
upon  the  table,  he  pointed  out  his  method  of  seeing 
both  sides  at  once.  The  next  day  I  mentioned  the 
anecdote  to  the  late  Dr.  Fitton,  who  a  few  days  after 
brought  me  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the  principle. 
It  consisted  of  a  round  disc  of  card  suspended  be- 
tween two  pieces  of  sewing  silk.  These  threads  being 
held  between  the  finger  and  thumb  of  each  hand,  were 

1  Quoted  from  Mr.  Henry  V.  Hopwood's  "  Living  Pictures,"  to 
which  book  the  author  is  indebted  for  much  of  his  information  in  this 
chapter. 

167 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

then  made  to  turn  quickly,  when  the  disc  of  card,  of 
course,  revolved  also.  Upon  one  side  of  this  disc  of 
card  was  painted  a  bird,  upon  the  other  side  an  empty 
bird-cage.  On  turning  the  thread  rapidly  the  bird 
appeared  to  have  got  inside  the  cage.  We  soon  made 
numerous  applications,  as  a  rat  on  one  side  and  a 
trap  on  the  other,  &c.  It  was  shown  to  Captain 
Kater,  Dr.  Wollaston,  and  many  of  our  friends,  and 
was,  after  the  lapse  of  a  short  time,  forgotten.  Some 
months  after,  during  dinner  at  the  Royal  Society 
Club,  Sir  Joseph  Banks  being  in  the  chair,  I  heard 
Mr.  Barrow,  then  secretary  to  the  Admiralty,  talking 
very  loudly  about  a  wonderful  invention  of  Dr.  Paris, 
the  object  of  which  I  could  not  quite  understand.  It 
was  called  the  Thaumatrope,  and  was  said  to  be  sold  at 
the  Royal  Institution,  in  Albemarle  Street.  Suspect- 
ing that  it  had  some  connection  with  our  unnamed 
toy  I  went  next  morning  and  purchased  for  seven 
shillings  and  sixpence  a  thaumatrope,  which  I  after- 
wards sent  down  to  Slough  to  the  late  Lady  Herschel. 
It  was  precisely  the  thing  which  her  son  and  Dr. 
Fitton  had  contributed  to  invent,  which  amused  all 
their  friends  for  a  time,  and  had  then  been  for- 
gotten." 

The  thaumatrope^  then,  did  nothing  more  than 
illustrate  the  power  of  the  eye  to  weld  together  a 
couple  of  alternating  impressions.  The  toys  to  which 
we  shall  next  pass  represent  the  same  principle  work- 
ing in  a  different  direction  towards  the  production  of 
the  living  picture. 

i68 


Animated  Pictures 

Now,  when  we  see  a  man  running  (to  take  an 
instance)  we  see  the  same  body  and  the  same  legs 
continuously,  but  in  different  positions,  which  merge 
insensibly  the  one  into  the  other.  No  method  of 
reproducing  that  impression  of  motion  is  possible  if 
only  one  drawing,  diagram,  or  photograph  be  em- 
ployed. 

A  man  represented  with  as  many  legs  as  a  centipede 
would  not  give  us  any  impression  of  running  or 
movement ;  and  a  blur  showing  the  positions  taken 
successively  by  his  legs  would  be  equally  futile. 
Therefore  we  are  driven  back  to  a  series  of  pictures, 
slightly  different  from  one  another  ;  and  in  order  that 
the  pictures  may  not  be  blurred  a  screen  must  be 
interposed  before  the  eye  while  the  change  from 
picture  to  picture  is  made.  The  shorter  the  period 
of  change,  and  the  greater  the  number  of  pictures 
presented  to  illustrate  a  single  motion,  the  more 
realistic  is  the  effect.  These  are  the  general  prin- 
ciples which  have  to  be  observed  in  all  mechanism 
for  the  production  of  an  illusory  effect  of  motion. 
The  persistence  of  vision  has  led  to  the  invention  of 
many  optical  toys,  the  names  of  which,  in  common 
with  the  names  of  most  apparatus  connected  with  the 
living  picture,  are  remarkable  for  their  length.  Of 
these  toys  we  will  select  three  for  special  notice. 

In  1833  Plateau  of  Ghent  invented  the  phenakisto- 
scopey  "the  thing  that  gives  one  a  false  impression 
of  reality" — to  interpret  this  formidable  word.  The 
phenakistoscope  is  a  disc  of  card  or  metal  round  the 

169 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

edge  of  which  are  drawn  a  succession  of  pictures 
showing  a  man  or  animal  in  progressive  positions. 
Between  every  two  pictures  a  narrow  slit  is  cut. 
The  disc  is  mounted  on  an  axle  and  revolved 
before  a  mirror,  so  that  a  person  looking  through 
the  slits  see  one  picture  after  another  reflected  in 
the  mirror. 

The  zoetrope^  or  Wheel  of  Life,  which  appeared  first 
in  i860,  is  a  modification  of  the  same  idea.  In  this 
instrument  the  pictures  are  arranged  on  the  inner  side 
of  a  hollow  cylinder  revolving  on  a  vertical  axis,  its 
sides  being  perforated  with  slits  above  the  pictures. 
As  the  slit  in  both  cases  caused  distortion  M.  Rey- 
naud,  a  Frenchman,  produced  in  \%^^  \ki^  praxinoscope^ 
which  differed  from  the  zoetrope  in  that  the  pictures 
were  not  seen  directly  through  slits,  but  were  reflected 
by  mirrors  set  half-way  between  the  pictures  and  the 
axis  of  the  cylinder,  a  mirror  for  every  picture.  Only 
at  the  moment  when  the  mirror  is  at  right  angles  to 
the  line  of  sight  would  the  picture  be  visible.  M. 
Reynaud  also  devised  a  special  lantern  for  projecting 
praxinoscope  pictures  on  to  a  screen. 

These  and  other  somewhat  similar  contrivances, 
though  ingenious,  had  very  distinct  limitations.  They 
depended  for  their  success  upon  the  inventiveness 
and  accuracy  of  the  artist,  who  was  confined  in  his 
choice  of  subject ;  and  could,  owing  to  the  con- 
struction of  the  apparatus,  only  represent  a  small 
series  of  actions,  indefinitely  repeated  by  the  machine. 
And  as  a  complete  action  had  to  be  crowded  into  a 

170 


Animated  Pictures 

few  pictures,  the  changes  of  position  were  necessarily 
abrupt. 

To  make  th«  living  picture  a  success  two  things 
were  needed ;  some  method  of  securing  a  very  rapid 
series  of  many  pictures,  and  a  machine  for  repro- 
ducing the  series,  whatever  its  length.  The  method 
was  found  in  photography,  with  the  advance  of  which 
the  living  picture's  progress  is  so  closely  related,  that 
it  will  be  worth  while  to  notice  briefly  the  various 
improvements  of  photographic  processes.  The  old- 
fashioned  Daguerreotype  process,  discovered  in  1839, 
required  an  exposure  of  half-an-hour.  The  intro- 
duction of  wet  collodion  reduced  this  tax  on  a 
sitter's  patience  to  ten  seconds.  In  1878  the  dry 
plate  process  had  still  further  shortened  the  exposure 
to  one  second  ;  and  since  that  date  the  silver-salt 
emulsions  used  in  photography  have  had  their  sensi- 
tiveness to  light  so  much  increased,  that  clear  pictures 
can  now  be  made  in  one-thousandth  of  a  second,  a 
period  minute  enough  to  arrest  the  most  rapid  move- 
ments of  animals. 

By  1878,  therefore,  instantaneous  photography  was 
ready  to  aid  the  living  picture.  Previously  to  that 
year  series  of  photographs  had  been  taken  from  posed 
models,  without  however  extending  the  choice  of 
subjects  to  any  great  extent.  But  between  1870  and 
1880  two  men,  Marey  and  Muybridge,  began  work 
with  the  camera  on  the  movements  of  horses.  Marey 
endeavoured  to  produce  a  series  of  pictures  round 
the  edge  of  one  plate  with  a  single  lens  and  repeated 

171 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

exposures.^  Muybridge,  on  the  other  hand,  used  a 
series  of  cameras.  He  erected  a  long  white  back- 
ground parallel  to  which  were  stationed  the  cameras 
at  equal  distances.  The  shutters  of  the  cameras  were 
connected  to  threads  laid  across  the  interval  between 
the  background  and  the  cameras  in  such  a  manner 
that  a  horse  driven  along  the  track  snapped  them 
at  regular  intervals,  and  brought  about  successive 
exposures.  Muybridge's  method  was  carried  on 
by  Anschlitz,  a  German,  who  in  1899  brought  out 
his  electrical  Tachyscope,  or  "  quick-seer."  Having 
secured  his  negatives  he  printed  off  transparent 
positives  on  glass,  and  arranged  these  last  round  the 
circumference  of  a  large  disc  rotating  in  front  of 
a  screen,  having  in  it  a  hole  the  size  of  the  trans- 
parencies. As  each  picture  came  opposite  the  hole 
a  Geissler  tube  was  momentarily  lit  up  behind  it  by 
electrical  contact,  giving  a  fleeting  view  of  one  phase 
of  a  horse's  motion. 

The  introduction  of  the  ribbon  film  in  or  about 
1888  opened  much  greater  possibilities  to  the  living 
picture  than  would  ever  have  existed  had  the  glass 
plate  been  retained.  It  was  now  comparatively  easy 
to  take  a  long  series  of  pictures ;  and  accordingly  we 
find  Messrs.  Friese-Greene  and  Evans  exhibiting  in 
1890  a  camera  capable  of  securing  three  hundred 
exposures  in  half  a  minute,  or  ten  per  second. 

^  A  very  interesting  article  in  the  May,  1902,  issue  of  Pearson^ s 
Magazine  deals  with  the  latest  work  of  Professor  Marey  in  the  field  of 
the  photographic  representation  of  the  movements  of  men  birds,  and 
quadrupeds. 

172 


Animated  Pictures 

The  next  apparatus  to  be  specially  mentioned  is 
Edison's  Kinetoscope,  which  he  first  exhibited  in 
England  in  1894.  As  early  as  1887  Mr.  Edison  had 
tried  to  produce  animated  pictures  in  a  manner  analo- 
gous to  the  making  of  a  sound-record  on  a  phono- 
graph (see  p.  56).  He  wrapped  round  a  cylinder  a 
sheet  of  sensitized  celluloid  which  was  covered,  after 
numerous  exposures,  by  a  spiral  line  of  tiny  negatives. 
The  positives  made  from  these  were  illuminated  in 
turn  by  flashes  of  electric  light.  This  method  was, 
however,  entirely  abandoned  in  the  perfected  kineto- 
scope,  an  instrument  for  viewing  pictures  the  size  of 
a  postage  stamp,  carried  on  a  continuously  moving 
celluloid  film  between  the  eye  of  the  observer  and  a 
small  electric  lamp.  The  pictures  passed  the  point 
of  inspection  at  the  rate  of  forty-six  per  second  (a 
rate  hitherto  never  approached),  and  as  each  picture 
was  properly  centred  a  slit  in  a  rapidly  revolving 
shutter  made  it  visible  for  a  very  small  fraction  of  a 
second.  Holes  punched  at  regular  intervals  along 
each  side  of  the  film  engaged  with  studs  on  a  wheel, 
and  insured  a  regular  motion  of  the  pictures.  This 
principle  of  a  perforated  film  has  been  used  by  nearly 
all  subsequent  manufacturers  of  animatographs. 

To  secure  forty-six  negatives  per  second  Edison 
invented  a  special  exposure  device.  Each  negative 
would  have  but  one-forty-sixth  of  a  second  to  itself,  and 
that  must  include  the  time  during  which  the  fresh  sur- 
face of  film  was  being  brought  into  position  before  the 
lens.    He  therefore  introduced  an  intermittent  gearing, 

173 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

which  jerked  the  film  forwards  forty-six  times  per 
second,  but  allowed  it  to  remain  stationary  for  nine- 
tenths  of  the  period  allotted  to  each  picture.  During 
the  time  of  movement  the  lens  was  covered  by  the 
shutter.  This  principle  of  exposure  has  also  been 
largely  adopted  by  other  inventors.  By  its  means 
weak  negatives  are  avoided,  while  pictures  projected 
on  to  a  screen  gain  greatly  in  brilliancy  and 
steadiness. 

The  capabilities  of  a  long  flexible  film-band  hav- 
ing been  shown  by  Edison,  he  was  not  long  with- 
out imitators.  Phantoscopes,  Bioscopes,  Photo- 
scopes,  and  many  other  instruments  followed  in 
quick  succession.  In  1895  Messrs.  Lumiere  scored 
a  great  success  with  their  Cinematograph,  which 
they  exhibited  at  Marseilles  and  Paris ;  throw- 
ing the  living  picture  as  we  now  know  it  on  to  a 
screen  for  a  large  company  to  see.  This  camera- 
lantern  opens  the  era  of  commercial  animated- 
photography.  The  number  of  patents  taken  out 
since  1895  in  connection  with  living-picture  machines 
is  sufficient  proof  that  inventors  have  either  found 
in  this  particular  branch  of  photography  a  peculiar 
fascination,  or  have  anticipated  from  it  a  substantial 
profit. 

A  company  known  as  the  Mutoscope  and  Biograph 
Company  has  been  formed  for  the  sole  object  of 
working  the  manufacture  and  exhibition  of  the 
living  picture  on  a  great  commercial  scale.  The 
present    company    is    American,   but  there  are  sub- 

174 


Animated  Pictures 

sidiary  allied  companies  in  many  parts  of  the  world, 
including  the  British  Isles,  France,  Italy,  Belgium, 
Germany,  Austria,  India,  Australia,  South  Africa. 
The  part  that  the  company  has  played  in  the  deve- 
lopment of  animated  photography  will  be  easily  un- 
derstood from  the  short  account  that  follows. 

The  company  controls  three  machines,  the  Muto- 
graph,  or  camera  for  making  negatives  ;  the  Biograph, 
or  lantern  for  throwing  pictures  on  to  the  screen  ; 
and  the  Mutoscope,  a  familiar  apparatus  in  which 
the  same  pictures  may  be  seen  in  a  different  fashion 
on  the  payment  of  a  penny. 

Externally  the  Mutograph  is  remarkable  for  its 
size,  which  makes  it  a  giant  of  its  kind.  The  complete 
apparatus  weighs,  with  its  accumulators,  several  hun- 
dreds of  pounds.  It  takes  a  very  large  picture,  as 
animatograph  pictures  go — two  by  two-and-a-half 
inches,  which,  besides  giving  increased  detail,  re- 
quire less  severe  magnification  than  is  usual  with 
other  films.  The  camera  can  make  up  to  a  hun- 
dred exposures  per  second,  in  which  time  twenty- 
two  feet  of  film  will  have  passed  before  the  lens. 

The  film  is  so  heavy  that  were  it  arrested  bodily 
during  each  exposure  and  then  jerked  forward  again, 
it  might  be  injured.  The  mechanism  of  the  muto- 
graph, driven  at  regular  speed  by  an  electric  motor, 
has  been  so  arranged  as  to  halt  only  that  part  of 
the  film  which  is  being  exposed,  the  rest  moving 
forward  continuously.  The  exposed  portion,  together 
with  the  next  surface,  which   has   accumulated  in  a 

175 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

loop  behind  it,  is  dragged  on  by  two  rollers  that 
are  in  contact  with  the  film  during  part  only  of 
their  revolutions.  Thus  the  jerky  motion  is  confined 
to  but  a  few  inches  of  the  film,  and  even  at  the 
highest  speeds  the  camera  is  peculiarly  free  from 
vibration. 

An  exposed  mutograph  film  is  wound  for  deve- 
lopment round  a  skeleton  reel,  three  feet  in  diameter 
and  seven  long,  which  rotates  in  a  shallow  trough 
containing  the  developing  solution.  Development 
complete,  the  reel  is  lifted  from  its  supports  and 
suspended  over  a  succession  of  other  troughs  for 
washing,  fixing,  and  final  washing.  When  dry  the 
negative  film  is  passed  through  a  special  printing 
frame  in  contact  with  another  film,  which  receives 
the  positive  image  for  the  biograph.  The  difficulty 
of  handling  such  films  will  be  appreciated  to  a  certain 
extent  even  by  those  whose  experience  is  confined 
to  the  snaky  behaviour  of  a  short  Kodak  reel  during 
development. 

The  Mutoscope  Company's  organisation  is  as  perfect 
as  its  machinery.  It  has  representatives  in  all  parts 
of  the  world.  Wherever  stirring  events  are  taking 
place,  whether  in  peace  or  war,  a  mutograph  operator 
will  soon  be  on  the  spot  with  his  heavy  apparatus 
to  secure  pictures  for  world-wide  exhibition.  It  need 
hardly  be  said  that  great  obstacles,  human  and 
physical,  have  often  to  be  overcome  before  a  film 
can  be  exposed ;  and  considerable  personal  danger 
encountered.    We  read  that  an  operator,  despatched 

176 


Animated  Pictures 

to  Cuba  during  the  Spanish-American  War  was  left 
three  days  and  nights  without  food  or  water  to  guard 
his  precious  instruments,  the  party  that  had  landed 
him  having  suddenly  put  to  sea  on  sighting  a  Spanish 
cruiser.  Another  is  reported  to  have  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  being  captured  at  sea  by  the  Spaniards 
after  a  hot  chase.  It  is  also  on  record  that  a  muto- 
graph  set  up  in  Atlantic  City  to  take  a  procession 
of  fire-engines  was  charged  and  shattered  by  one  of 
the  engines  ;  that  the  operators  were  flung  into  the 
crowd  :  and  that  nevertheless  the  box  containing  the 
exposed  films  was  uninjured,  and  on  development 
yielded  a  very  sensational  series  of  pictures  lasting 
to  the  moment  of  collision. 

The  Mutoscope  Company  owns  several  thousand 
series  of  views,  none  probably  more  valuable  than  those 
of  his  Holiness  the  Pope,  who  graciously  gave  Mr.  W. 
K.  Dickson  five  special  sittings,  during  which  no  less 
than  17,000  negatives  were  made,  each  one  of  great 
interest  to  millions  of  people  throughout  the  world. 

The  company  spares  neither  time  nor  money  in  its 
endeavour  to  supply  the  public  with  what  will  prove 
acceptable.  A  year's  output  runs  into  a  couple  of 
hundred  miles  of  film.  As  much  as  700  feet  is  some- 
times expended  on  a  single  series,  which  may  be  worth 
anything  up  to  ;^iooo. 

The  energy  displayed  by  the  operators  is  often 
marvellous.  To  take  instances.  The  Derby  of  1898 
was  run  at  3.20  p.m.  At  ten  o'clock  the  race  was 
run   again   by  Biograph   on   the   great  sheet   at   the 

177  M 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Palace  Theatre.  On  the  home-coming  of  Lord 
Kitchener  from  the  Soudan  Campaign,  a  series  of 
photographs  was  taken  at  Dover  in  the  afternoon 
and  exhibited  the  same  evening  !  Or  again,  to  con- 
sider a  wider  sphere  of  action,  the  Jubilee  Procession 
of  1897  w^s  watched  in  New  York  ten  days  after 
the  event ;  two  days  later  in  Chicago  ;  and  in  three 
more  the  films  were  attracting  large  audiences  in 
San  Francisco,  5000  miles  from  the  actual  scene  of 
the  procession  ! 

One  may  easily  weary  of  a  series  of  single  views 
passed  slowly  through  a  magic-lantern  at  a  lecture 
or  entertainment.  But  when  the  Biograph  is  flashing 
its  records  at  lightning  speed  there  is  no  cause  for 
dulness.  It  is  impossible  to  escape  from  the  fas- 
cination of  movement*  A  single  photograph  gives 
the  impression  of  mere  resemblance  to  the  original ; 
but  a  series,  each  reinforcing  the  signification  of  the 
last,  breathes  life  into  the  dead  image,  and  deludes 
us  into  the  belief  that  we  see,  not  the  representation 
of  a  thing,  but  the  thing  itself.  The  bill  of  fare  pro- 
vided, by  the  Biograph  Company  is  varied  enough  to 
suit  the  most  fastidious  taste.  Now  it  is  the  great 
Naval;  Review  off  Spithead,  or  President  Faure 
shooting  pheasants  on  his  preserves  near  Paris.  A 
moment's  pause  and  then  the  magnificent  Falls  of 
Niagara  foam  across  the  sheet  ;  Maxim  guns  fire 
harmlessly  ;  panoramic  scenes  taken  from  loco- 
motives running  at  high  velocity  unfold  themselves 
to  the  delighted  spectators,  who  feel  as  if  they  really 

178 


Animated  Pictures 

were  speeding  over  open  country,  among  towering 
rocks,  or  plunging  into  the  darkness  of  a  tunnel. 
Here  is  an  express  approaching  with  all  the  quiver 
and  fuss  of  real  motion,  so  faithfully  rendered  that 
it  seems  as  if  a  catastrophe  were  imminent;  when, 
snap  !  we  are  transported  a  hundred  miles  to  watch 
it  glide  into  a  station.  The  doors  open,  passengers 
step  out  and  shake  hands  with  friends,  porters  bustle 
about  after  luggage,  doors  are  slammed  again,  the 
guard  waves  his  flag,  and  the  carriages  move  slowly 
out  of  the  picture.  Then  our  attention  is  switched 
away  to  the  lo-inch  disappearing  gun,  landing  and 
firing  at  Sandy  Hook.  And  next,  as  though  to  show 
that  nothing  is  beneath  the  notice  of  the  biograph, 
we  are  perhaps  introduced  to  a  family  of  small  pigs 
feeding  from  a  trough  with  porcine  earnestness  and 
w^ant  of  manners. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  Living  Picture 
caters  for  mere  entertainment  only.  It  serves  some 
very  practical  and  useful  ends.  By  its  aid  the  move- 
ments of  machinery  and  the  human  muscles  may  be 
studied  in  detail,  to  aid  a  mechanical  or  medical  educa- 
tion. It  furnishes  art  schools  with  all  the  poses  of  a 
living  model.  Less  serious  pursuits,  such  as  dancing, 
boxing,  wrestling  and  all  athletic  sports  and  exercise, 
will  find  a  use  for  it.  As  an  advertising  medium  it 
stands  unrivalled,  and  we  shall  owe  it  a  deep  debt  of 
gratitude  if  it  ultimately  supplants  the  flaring  posters 
that  disfigure  our  towns  and  desecrate  our  landscapes. 
Not  so  long  since,  the  directors  of  the  Norddeutscher- 

179 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Lloyd  Steamship  Company  hired  the  biograph  at  the 
Palace  Theatre,  London,  to  demonstrate  to  anybody 
who  cared  to  witness  a  very  interesting  exhibition 
that  their  line  of  vessels  should  always  be  used  for 
a  journey  between  England  and  America. 

The  Living  Picture  has  even  been  impressed  into 
the  service  of  the  British  Empire  to  promote  emigra- 
tion to  the  Colonies.  Three  years  ago  Mr.  Freer 
exhibited  at  the  Imperial  Institute  and  in  other  places 
in  England  a  series  of  films  representing  the  1897 
harvest  in  Manitoba.  Would-be  emigrants  were  able 
to  satisfy  themselves  that  the  great  Canadian  plains 
were  fruitful  not  only  on  paper.  For  could  they 
not  see  with  their  own  eyes  the  stately  procession  of 
automatic  "  binders "  reaping,  binding,  and  deliver- 
ing sheaves  of  wheat,  and  puffing  engines  threshing 
out  the  grain  ready  for  market  ?  A  far  preferable 
method  this  to  the  bogus  descriptions  of  land  com- 
panies such  as  lured  poor  Chuzzlewit  and  Mark  Tapley 
into  the  deadly  swamps  of  "  Eden." 

Again,  what  more  calculated  to  recruit  boys  for  our 
warships  than  the  fine  Polytechnic  exhibition  known 
as  "  Our  Navy "  ?  What  words,  spoken  or  printed, 
could  have  the  effect  of  a  series  of  vivid  scenes  truth- 
fully rendered,  of  drills  on  board  ship,  the  manning 
and  firing  of  big  guns,  the  limbering-up  of  smaller 
guns,  the  discharge  of  torpedoes,  the  headlong  rush 
of  the  **  destroyers  "  ? 

The  Mutoscope,  to  which  reference  has  been  made 
above,  may  be  found  in  most  places  of  public  enter- 

180 


Animated  Pictures 

tainment,  in  refreshment  bars,  on  piers,  in  exhibitions, 
on  promenades.  A  penny  dropped  into  a  slot  re- 
leases a  handle,  the  turning  of  which  brings  a  series 
of  pictures  under  inspection.  The  pictures,  enlarged 
from  mutograph  films,  are  mounted  in  consecutive 
order  round  a  cylinder,  standing  out  like  the  leaves 
of  a  book.  When  the  cylinder  is  revolved  by  means 
of  the  handle  the  picture  cards  are  snapped  past  the 
eye,  giving  an  effect  similar  to  the  lifelike  projections 
on  a  biograph  screen.  From  900  to  1000  pictures 
are  mounted  on  a  cylinder. 

The  advantages  of  the  mutoscope — its  convenient 
size,  its  simplicity,  and  the  ease  with  which  its  con- 
tents may  be  changed  to  illustrate  the  topics  and 
events  of  the  day — have  made  the  animated  photo- 
graph extremely  popular.  It  does  for  vision  what 
the  phonograph  does  for  sound.  In  a  short  time  we 
shall  doubtless  be  provided  with  handy  machines 
combining  the  two  functions  and  giving  us  double 
value  for  our  penny. 

The  real  importance  and  value  of  animated  photo- 
graphy will  be  more  easily  estimated  a  few  years 
hence  than  to-day,  when  it  is  still  more  or  less  of  a 
novelty.  The  multiplication  of  illustrated  new^spapers 
and  magazines  points  to  a  general  desire  for  pictorial 
matter  to  help  down  the  daily,  weekly,  or  monthly 
budget  of  news,  even  if  the  illustrations  be  imagina- 
tive products  of  Fleet  Street  rather  than  faithful  to 
fact.  The  reliable  living  picture  (we  except  the  '^  set- 
scene  ")  which  "  holds  up  a  mirror  to  nature,"  will  be 

181 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

a  companion  rather  than  a  rival  of  journalism,  follow- 
ing hard  on  the  description  in  print  of  an  event  that 
has  taken  place  under  the  eye  of  the  recordmg  camera. 
The  zest  with  which  we  have  watched  during  the  last 
two  years  biographic  views  of  the  embarkation  and 
disembarkation  of  troops,  of  the  transport  of  big  guns 
through  drifts  and  difficult  country,  and  of  the  other 
circumstances  of  war,  is  largely  due  to  the  descrip- 
tions we  have  already  read  of  the  things  that  we  see 
on  the  screen.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  impres- 
sion left  by  a  series  of  animated  views  will  dwell  in 
our  memories  long  after  the  contents  of  the  news- 
paper columns  have  become  confused  and  jumbled. 
It  is  therefore  especially  to  be  hoped  that  photographic 
records  will  be  kept  of  historic  events,  such  as  the 
Jubilee,  the  Queen's  Funeral,  King  Edward's  Corona- 
tion, so  that  future  generations  may,  by  the  turning 
of  a  handle,  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  great 
doings  of  a  bygone  age. 


182 


THE    GREAT    PARIS    TELESCOPE 

A  TELESCOPE  SO  powerful  that  it  brings  the  moon 
apparently  to  within  thirty-five  miles  of  the  earth ;  so 
long  that  many  a  cricketer  could  not  throw  a  ball 
from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other ;  so  heavy  that  it 
would  by  itself  make  a  respectable  load  for  a  goods 
train ;  so  expensive  that  astronomically  -  inclined 
millionaires  might  well  hesitate  to  order  a  similar 
one  for  their  private  use. 

Such  is  the  huge  Paris  telescope  that  in  1900  de- 
lighted thousands  of  visitors  in  the  French  Exposi- 
tion, where,  among  the  many  wonderful  sights  to  be 
seen  on  all  sides,  it  probably  attracted  more  notice 
than  any  other  exhibit.  This  triumph  of  scientific 
engineering  and  dogged  perseverance  in  the  face  of 
great  difficulties  owes  its  being  to  a  suggestion  made 
in  1894  to  a  group  of  French  astronomers  by  M.  De- 
loncle.  He  proposed  to  bring  astronomy  to  the  front 
at  the  coming  Exposition,  and  to  effect  this  by  build- 
ing a  refracting  telescope  that  in  size  and  power 
should  completely  eclipse  all  existing  instruments 
and  add  a  new  chapter  to  the  "  story  of  the 
heavens." 

To  the  mind  unversed  in  astronomy  the  telescope 
appeals  by  the  magnitude  of  its  dimensions,  in  the 

183 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

same  way  as  do  the  Forth  Bridge,  the  Eiffel  Tower, 
the  Big  Wheel,  the  statue  of  Liberty  near  New 
York  harbour,  the  Pyramids,  and  most  human-made 
"  biggest  on  records." 

At  the  time  of  M.  Deloncle's  proposal  the  largest 
refracting  telescope  was  the  Yerkes'  at  William's  Bay, 
Wisconsin,  with  an  object-glass  forty  inches  in  dia- 
meter ;  and  next  to  it  the  36-inch  Lick  instrument  on 
Mount  Hamilton,  California,  built  by  Messrs.  Alvan 
Clark  of  Cambridgeport,  Massachusetts.  Among 
reflecting  telescopes  the  prior  place  is  still  held  by 
Lord  Rosse's,  set  up  on  the  lawn  of  Birr  Castle  half 
a  century  ago.  Its  speculum,  or  mirror,  weighing 
three  tons,  lies  at  the  lower  end  of  a  tube  six  feet 
across  and  sixty  feet  long.  This  huge  reflector,  being 
mounted  in  meridian,  moves  only  in  a  vertical  direc- 
tion. A  refracting  telescope  is  one  of  the  ordinary 
pocket  type,  having  an  object-lens  at  one  end  and 
an  eyepiece  at  the  other.  A  reflector,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  no  object-lens,  its  place  being  taken  by  a 
mirror  that  gathers  the  rays  entering  the  tube  and 
reflects  them  back  into  the  eyepiece,  which  is  situated 
nearer  the  mouth  end  of  the  tube  than  the  mirror 
itself. 

Each  system  has  its  peculiar  disadvantages.  In 
reflectors  the  image  is  more  or  less  distorted  by 
"spherical  aberration."  In  refractors  the  image  is 
approximately  perfect  in  shape,  but  liable  to  ^^chro- 
matic aberration,"  a  phenomenon  especially  notice- 
able in    cheap    telescopes    and    field-glasses,   which 

184 


The  Great  Paris  Telescope 

often  show  objects  fringed  with  some  of  the  colours 
of  the  spectrum.  This  defect  arises  from  the  different 
refrangibiUty  of  different  Hght  rays.  Thus,  violet 
rays  come  to  a  focus  at  a  shorter  distance  from  the 
lens  than  red  rays,  and  when  one  set  is  in  focus  to 
the  eye  the  other  must  be  out  of  focus.  In  carefully- 
made  and  expensive  instruments  compound  lenses 
are  used,  which  by  the  employment  of  different  kinds 
of  glass  bring  all  the  colours  to  practically  the  same 
focus,  and  so  do  away  with  chromatic  aberration. 

To  reduce  colour  troubles  to  a  mmimum  M.  Deloncle 
proposed  that  the  object-lens  should  have  a  focal  dis- 
tance of  about  two  hundred  feet,  since  a  long  focus 
is  more  easily  corrected  than  a  short  one,  and  a 
diameter  of  over  fifty-nine  inches.  The  need  for  so 
huge  a  lens  arises  out  of  the  optical  principles  of  a 
refractor.  The  rays  from  an  object — a  star,  for  in- 
stance— strike  the  object-glass  at  the  near  end,  and 
are  bent  by  it  into  a  converging  beam,  till  they  all 
meet  at  the  focus.  Behind  the  focus  they  again 
separate,  and  are  caught  by  the  eyepiece,  which 
reduces  them  to  a  parallel  beam  small  enough  to 
enter  the  pupil.  We  thus  see  that  though  the  un- 
aided eye  gathers  only  the  few  rays  that  fall  directly 
from  the  object  on  to  the  pupil,  when  helped  by  the 
telescope  it  receives  the  concentrated  rays  falling 
on  the  whole  area  of  the  object-glass  ;  and  it  would 
be  sensible  of  a  greatly  increased  brightness  had  not 
this  light  to  be  redistributed  over  the  image,  which 
is  the  object  magnified  by  the  eyepiece.     Assuming 

i8S 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  aperture  of  the  pupil  to  be  one-tenth  of  an  inch, 
and  the  object  to  be  magnified  a  hundred  times,  the 
object-lens  should  have  a  hundred  times  the  diameter 
of  the  pupil  to  render  the  image  as  bright  as  the 
object  itself.  If  the  lens  be  five  instead  of  ten  inches 
across,  a  great  loss  of  light  results,  as  in  the  high 
powers  of  a  microscope,  and  the  image  loses  in  dis- 
tinctness what  it  gains  in  size. 

As  M.  Deloncle  meant  his  telescope  to  beat  all 
records  in  respect  of  magnification,  he  had  no  choice 
but  to  make  a  lens  that  should  give  proportionate 
illumination,  and  itself  be  of  unprecedented  size. 

At  first  M.  Deloncle  met  with  considerable  opposi- 
tion and  ridicule.  Such  a  scheme  as  his  was  de- 
clared to  be  beyond  accomplishment.  But  in  spite 
of  many  prophecies  of  ultimate  failure  he  set  to 
work,  entrusting  the  construction  of  the  various  por- 
tions of  his  colossal  telescope  to  well-tried  experts. 
To  M.  Gautier  was  given  the  task  of  making  all  the 
mechanical  parts  of  the  apparatus;  to  M.  Mantois 
the  casting  of  the  giant  lenses ;  to  M.  Despret  the 
casting  of  the  huge  mirror,  to  which  reference  will 
be  made  immediately. 

The  first  difficulty  to  be  encountered  arose  from 
the  sheer  size  of  the  instrument.  It  was  evidently 
impossible  to  mount  such  a  leviathan  in  the  ordinary 
way.  A  tube,  i8o  feet  long,  could  not  be  made  rigid 
enough  to  move  about  and  yet  permit  careful  obser- 
vation of  the  stars.  Even  supposing  that  it  were 
satisfactorily  mounted  on  an  *' equatorial  foot"  like 

i86 


The  Great  Paris  Telescope 

smaller  glasses,  how  could  it  be  protected  from  wind 
and  weather  ?  To  cover  it,  a  mighty  dome,  two 
hundred  feet  or  more  in  diameter,  would  be  required ; 
a  dome  exceeding  by  over  seventy  feet  the  cupola 
of  St.  Peter's,  Rome ;  and  this  dome  must  revolve 
easily  on  its  base  at  a  pace  of  about  fifty  feet  an  hour, 
so  that  the  telescope  might  follow  the  motion  of  the 
heavenly  bodies. 

The  constructors  therefore  decided  to  abandon  any 
idea  of  making  a  telescope  that  could  be  moved  about 
and  pointed  in  any  desired  direction.  The  alterna- 
tive course  open  to  them  was  to  fix  the  telescope 
itself  rigidly  in  position,  and  to  bring  the  stars  within 
its  field  by  means  of  a  mirror  mounted  on  a  massive 
iron  frame — the  two  together  technically  called  a 
siderostat.  The  mirror  and  its  support  would  be 
driven  by  clockwork  at  the  proper  sidereal  rate.  The 
siderostat  principle  had  been  employed  as  early  as 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  perfected  in  recent  years 
by  Leon  Foucault,  so  that  in  having  recourse  to  it 
the  builders  of  the  telescope  were  not  committing 
themselves  to  any  untried  device. 

In  days  when  the  handling  of  masses  of  iron,  and 
the  erection  of  huge  metal  constructions  have  become 
matters  of  everyday  engineering  life,  no  peculiar 
difficulty  presented  itself  in  connection  with  the 
metal-work  of  the  telescope.  The  greatest  possible 
care  was  of  course  observed  in  every  particular.  All 
joints  and  bearings  were  adjusted  with  an  extra- 
ordinary accuracy;    and  ail   the  cylindrical  moving 

187 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

parts  of  the  siderostat  verified  till  they  did  not  vary 
from  perfect  cylindricity  by  so  much  as  one  twenty- 
five-thousandth  of  an  inch  ! 

The  tube  of  the  telescope,  i8o  feet  long,  consisted 
of  twenty-four  sections,  fifty-nine  inches  in  diameter, 
bolted  together  and  supported  on  seven  massive  iron 
pillars.  It  weighed  twenty-one  tons.  The  siderostat, 
twenty-seven  feet  high,  and  as  many  in  length,  weighed 
forty-five  tons.  The  lower  portion,  which  was  fixed 
firmly  on  a  bed  of  concrete,  had  on  the  top  a  tank 
filled  with  quicksilver,  in  which  the  mirror  and  its 
frame  floated.  The  quicksilver  supported  nine-tenths 
of  the  weight,  the  rest  being  taken  by  the  levers  used 
to  move  the  mirror.  Though  the  total  weight  of  the 
mirror  and  frame  was  thirteen  tons,  the  quicksilver 
offered  so  little  resistance  that  a  pull  of  a  few  pounds 
sufficed  to  rotate  the  entire  mass. 

The  real  romance  of  the  construction  of  this  huge 
telescope  centres  on  the  making  of  the  lenses  and 
mirror.  First-class  lenses  for  all  photographic  and 
optical  purposes  command  a  very  high  price  on 
account  of  the  care  and  labour  that  has  to  be  ex- 
pended on  their  production  ;  the  value  of  the  glass 
being  trifling  by  comparison.  Few,  if  any,  trades 
require  greater  mechanical  skill  than  that  of  lens- 
making  ;  the  larger  the  lens  the  greater  the  difficul- 
ties it  presents,  first  in  the  casting,  then  in  the 
grinding,  last  of  all  in  the  polishing.  The  presence 
of  a  single  air-bubble  in  the  molten  glass,  the  slightest 
irregularity  of  surface  in  the  polishing   may  utterly 

i88 


'"<    i^ 


^ 


to 


■§■       ^3 


o 

GO 


■s-  '- 


'S   e: 


■?>   ^ 


The  Great  Paris  Telescope 

destroy  the  value  of  a  lens  otherwise  worth  several 
thousands  of  pounds. 

The  object-glass  of  the  great  telescope  was  cast  by 
M.  Mantois,  famous  as  the  manufacturer  of  large  lenses. 
The  glass  used  was  boiled  and  reboiled  many  times  to 
get  rid  of  all  bubbles.  Then  it  was  run  into  a  mould 
and  allowed  to  cool  very  gradually.  A  whole  month 
elapsed  before  the  breaking  of  a  mould,  when  the 
lens  often  proved  to  be  cracked  on  the  surface,  owing 
to  the  exterior  having  cooled  faster  than  the  interior 
and  parted  company  with  it.  At  last,  however,  a 
perfect  cast  resulted. 

M.  Despret  undertook  the  even  more  formidable 
task  of  casting  the  mirror  at  his  works  at  Jeumont, 
North  France.  A  special  furnace  and  oven,  capable 
of  containing  over  fifteen  tons  of  molten  glass,  had 
to  be  constructed.  The  mirror,  6J  feet  in  diameter 
and  eleven  inches  thick,  absorbed  3f  tons  of  liquid 
glass ;  and  so  great  was  the  difficulty  of  cooling  it 
gradually,  that  out  of  the  twenty  casts  eighteen  were 
failures. 

The  rough  lenses  and  mirror  having  been  ground 
to  approximate  correctness  in  the  ordinary  way,  there 
arose  the  question  of  polishing,  which  is  generally 
done  by  one  of  the  most  sensitive  and  perfect  in- 
struments existing — the  human  hand.  In  this  case, 
owing  to  the  enormous  size  of  the  objects  to  be 
treated,  hand  work  would  not  do.  The  mere  hot 
touch  of  a  workman  would  raise  on  the  glass  a  tiny 
protuberance,  which  would  be  worn  level  wdth  the 

189 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

rest  of  the  surface  by  the  polisher,  and  on  the  cooling 
of  the  part  would  leave  a  depression,  only  1-75,000 
of  an  inch  deep,  perhaps,  but  sufficient  to  produce 
distortion,  and  require  that  the  lens  should  be  ground 
down  again,  and  the  whole  surface  polished  afresh. 

M.  Gautier  therefore  polished  by  machinery.  It 
proved  a  very  difficult  process  altogether,  on  account 
of  frictional  heating,  the  rise  of  temperature  in  the 
polishing  room,  and  the  presence  of  dust.  To  insure 
success  it  was  found  necessary  to  warm  all  the  polish- 
ing machinery,  and  to  keep  it  at  a  fixed  temperature. 

At  the  end  of  almost  a  year  the  polishing  was  finished, 
after  the  lenses  and  mirror  had  been  subjected  to  the 
most  searching  tests,  able  to  detect  irregularities  not 
exceeding  1-250,000  of  an  inch.  M.  Gautier  applied  to 
the  mirror  M.  Foucault's  test,  which  is  worth  mention- 
ing. A  point  of  light  thrown  by  the  mirror  is  focused 
through  a  telescope.  The  eyepiece  is  then  moved  in- 
wards and  outwards  so  as  to  throw  the  point  out  of 
focus.  If  the  point  becomes  a  luminous  circle  sur- 
rounded by  concentric  rings,  the  surface  throwing  the 
light  point  is  perfectly  plane  or  smooth.  If,  however, 
a  pushing-in  shows  a  vertical  flattening  of  the  point, 
and  a  pulling-out  a  horizontal  flattening,  that  part  is 
concave ;  if  the  reverse  happens,  convexity  is  the  cause. 

For  the  removal  of  the  mirror  from  Jeumont  to 
Paris  a  special  train  was  engaged,  and  precautions 
were  taken  rivalling  those  by  which  travelling  Royalty 
is  guarded.  The  train  ran  at  night  without  stopping, 
and  at  a  constant  pace,  so  that  the  vibration  of  the 

190 


The  Great  Paris  Telescope 

glass  atoms  might  not  vary.  On  arriving  at  Paris,  the 
mirror  was  transferred  to  a  ponderous  waggon,  and 
escorted  by  a  body  of  men  to  the  Exposition  build- 
ings. The  huge  object-lens  received  equally  careful 
treatment. 

The  telescope  was  housed  at  the  Exhibition  in  a  long 
gallery  pointing  due  north  and  south,  the  siderostat  at 
the  north  end.  At  the  other,  the  eyepiece,  end,  a  large 
amphitheatre  accommodated  the  public  assembled  to 
watch  the  projection  of  stellar  or  lunar  images  on  to 
a  screen  thirty  feet  high,  while  a  lecturer  explained 
what  was  visible  from  time  to  time.  The  images  of 
the  sun  and  moon  as  they  appeared  at  the  primary 
focus  in  the  eyepiece  measured  from  twenty-one  to 
twenty-two  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  screen  pro- 
jections were  magnified  from  these  about  thirty  times 
superficially. 

The  eyepiece  section  consisted  of  a  short  tube,  of 
the  same  breadth  as  the  main  tube,  resting  on  four 
wheels  that  travelled  along  rails.  Special  gearing 
moved  this  truck-like  construction  backwards  and 
forwards  to  bring  a  sharp  focus  into  the  eyepiece 
or  on  to  a  photographic  plate.  Focusing  was  thus 
easy  enough  when  once  the  desired  object  came  in 
view ;  but  the  observer  being  unable  to  control  the 
siderostat,  250  feet  distant,  had  to  telephone  direc- 
tions to  an  assistant  stationed  near  the  mirror  when- 
ever he  wished  to  examine  an  object  not  in  the  field 
of  vision. 

By  the  courtesy  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Strand 

191 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Magazine  we  are  allowed  to  quote  M.  Deloncle's 
own  words  describing  his  emotions  on  his  first  view 
through  the  giant  telescope  : — 

'*As  is  invariably  the  case,  whenever  an  innovation 
that  sets  at  nought  old-established  theories  is  brought 
forward,  the  prophecies  of  failure  were  many  and 
loud,  and  I  had  more  than  a  suspicion  that  my  suc- 
cess would  cause  less  satisfaction  to  others  than 
to  myself.  Better  than  any  one  else  I  myself  was 
cognisant  of  the  unpropitious  conditions  in  which 
my  instrument  had  to  work.  The  proximity  of  the 
river,  the  dust  raised  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
trampling  feet,  the  trepidation  of  the  soil,  the  working 
of  the  machinery,  the  changes  of  temperature,  the 
glare  from  the  thousands  of  electric  lamps  in  close 
proximity — each  of  these  circumstances,  and  many 
others  of  a  more  technical  nature,  which  it  would 
be  tedious  to  enumerate,  but  which  were  no  less 
important,  would  have  been  more  than  sufficient 
to  make  any  astronomer  despair  of  success  even  in 
observatories  where  all  the  surroundings  are  chosen 
with  the  utmost  care. 

^*  In  regions  pure  of  calm  and  serene  air  large 
new  instruments  take  months,  more  often  years,  to 
regulate  properly. 

"In  spite  of  everything,  however,  I  still  felt  con- 
fident. Our  calculations  had  been  gone  over  again 
and  again,  and  I  could  see  nothing  that  in  my  opinion 
warranted  the  worst  apprehensions  of  my  kind  critics. 

*'  It  was  with  ill-restrained  impatience  that  I  waited 

192 


The  Great  Paris  Telescope 

for  the  first  night  when  the  moon  should  show  her- 
self in  a  suitable  position  for  being  observed  ;  but 
the  night  arrived  in  due  course. 

"  Everything  was  in  readiness.  The  movable  por- 
tion of  the  roof  of  the  building  had  been  slid  back, 
and  the  mirror  of  the  siderostat  stood  bared  to  the 
sky. 

"  In  the  dark,  square  chamber  at  the  other  end  of 
the  instrument,  200  feet  away,  into  which  the  eye- 
piece of  the  instrument  opened,  I  had  taken  my 
station  with  two  or  three  friends.  An  attendant  at 
the  telephone  stood  waiting  at  my  elbow  to  transmit 
my  orders  to  his  colleague  in  charge  of  the  levers  that 
regulated  the  siderostat  and  its  mirror. 

^^The  moon  had  risen  now,  and  her  silvery  glory 
shone  and  sparkled  in  the  mirror. 

"  *  A  right  declension,'  I  ordered. 

'^The  telephone  bell  rang  in  reply.  'Slowly,  still 
slower ;  now  to  the  left — enough  ;  again  a  right  de- 
clension— slower  ;  stop  now — very,  very  slowly.' 

"On  the  ground-glass  before  our  eyes  the  moon's 
image  crept  up  from  one  corner  until  it  had  over- 
spread the  glass  completely.  And  there  we  stood 
in  the  centre  of  Paris,  examining  the  surface  of  our 
satellite  with  all  its  craters  and  valleys  and  bleak 
desolation. 

"  I  had  won  the  day." 


^93  N 


PHOTOGRAPHING  THE  INVISIBLE. 

Most  of  us  are  able  to  recognise  when  we  see  them 
shadowgraphs  taken  by  the  aid  of  the  now  famous 
X-rays,  They  generally  represent  some  part  of  the 
structure  of  men,  beasts,  birds,  or  fishes.  Very  dark 
patches  show  the  position  of  the  bones,  large  and 
small  ;  lighter  patches  the  more  solid  muscles 
cHnging  to  the  bony  framework  ;  and  outside  these 
again  are  shadowy  tracts  corresponding  to  the 
thinnest  and  most  transparent  portions  of  the  fleshy 
envelope. 

In  an  age  fruitful  as  this  in  scientific  marvels,  it 
often  takes  some  considerable  time  for  the  public  to 
grasp  the  full  importance  of  a  fresh  discovery.  But 
when,  in  1896,  it  was  announced  that  Professor 
Rontgen  of  Wiirzburg  had  actually  taken  photo- 
graphs of  the  internal  organs  of  still  living  creatures, 
and  penetrated  metal  and  other  opaque  substances 
with  a  new  kind  of  ray,  great  interest  was  manifested 
throughout  the  civilised  world.  On  the  one  hand  the 
"  new  photography  "  seemed  to  upset  popular  ideas 
of  opacity  ;  on  the  other  it  savoured  strongly  of  the 
black  art,  and,  by  its  easy  excursions  through  the 
human  body,  seemed  likely  to  revolutionise  medical 
and  surgical  methods.     At  first  many  strange  ideas 

194 


Photographing  the  Invisible 

about  the  X-rays  got  afloat,  attributing  to  them 
powers  which  would  have  surprised  even  their 
modest  discoverer.  It  was  also  thought  that  the 
records  were  made  in  a  camera  after  the  ordinary 
manner  of  photography,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact 
R5ntgen  used  neither  lens  nor  camera,  the  operation 
being  similar  to  that  of  casting  a  shadow  on  a  wall 
by  means  of  a  lamp.  In  X-radiography  a  specially 
constructed  electrically-lit  glass  tube  takes  the  place 
of  the  lamp,  and  for  the  wall  is  substituted  a  sensi- 
tised plate.  The  object  to  be  radiographed  is  merely 
inserted  between  them,  its  various  parts  offering 
varying  resistance  to  the  rays,  so  that  the  plate  is 
affected  unequally,  and  after  exposure  may  be 
developed  and  printed  from  in  the  usual  way. 
Photographs  obtained  by  using  X-rays  are  there- 
fore properly  called  shadowgraphs  or  skiagraphs. 

The  discovery  that  has  made  Professor  Rontgen 
famous  is,  like  many  great  discoveries,  based  upon 
the  labours  of  other  men  in  the  sa'^me  field.  Geissler, 
whose  vacuum  tubes  are  so  well  known  for  their 
striking  colour  effects,  had  already  noticed  that 
electric  discharges  sent  through  very  much  rarefied 
air  or  gases  produced  beautiful  glows.  Sir  William 
Crookes,  following  the  same  line  of  research,  and 
reducing  with  a  Sprengel  air  -  pump  the  internal 
pressure  of  the  tubes  to  io^qqo  oi  an  atmosphere, 
found  that  a  luminous  glow  streamed  from  the 
cathode,  or  negative  pole,  in  a  straight  line,  heating 
and  rendering  phosphorescent  anything  that  it  met. 

195 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Crookes  regarded  the  glow  as  composed  of  "  radiant 
matter/'  and  explained  its  existence  as  follows.  The 
airy  particles  inside  the  tube,  being  few  in  number, 
are  able  to  move  about  with  far  greater  freedom  than 
in  the  tightly  packed  atmosphere  outside  the  tube.  A 
particle,  on  reaching  the  cathode,  is  repelled  violently 
by  it  in  a  straight  line,  to  "  bombard  "  another  par- 
ticle, the  walls  of  the  tube,  or  any  object  set  up  in  its 
path,  the  sudden  arrest  of  motion  being  converted 
into  light  and  heat. 

By  means  of  special  tubes  he  proved  that  the 
**  radiant  matter "  could  turn  little  vanes,  and  that 
the  flow  continued  even  when  the  terminals  of  the 
shocking-coil  were  outside  the  glass,  thus  meeting  the 
contention  of  Puluj  that  the  radiant  matter  was 
nothing  more  than  small  particles  of  platinum  torn 
from  the  terminals.  He  also  showed  that,  when 
intercepted,  radiant  matter  cast  a  shadow,  the  inter- 
cepting object  receiving  the  energy  of  the  bombard- 
ment ;  but  that  when  the  obstruction  was  removed 
the  hitherto  sheltered  part  of  the  glass  wall  of  the 
tube  glowed  with  a  brighter  phosphorescence  than  the 
part  which  had  become  ^^  tired  "  by  prolonged  bom- 
bardment. Experiments  further  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  shaft  of  "  Cathode  rays  "  could  be  deflected 
by  a  magnet  from  their  course,  and  that  they  affected 
an  ordinary  photographic  plate  exposed  to  them. 

In  1894  Lenard,  a  Hungarian,  and  pupil  of  the 
famous  Hertz,  fitted  a  Crookes'  tube  with  a  ^^  window" 
of  aluminium  in  its  side  replacing  a  part  of  the  glass, 

196 


Photographing  the  Invisible 

and  saw  that  the  course  of  th^^rays  could  be  traced 
through  the  outside  air.  From  this  it  was  evident 
that  something  else  than  matter  must  be  present  in 
the  shaft  of  energy  sent  from  the  negative  terminal  of 
the  tube,  as  there  was  no  direct  communication  be- 
tween the  interior  and  the  exterior  of  the  tube  to 
account  for  the  external  phosphorescence.  What- 
ever was  the  nature  of  the  rays  he  succeeded  in 
making  them  penetrate  and  impress  themselves  on  a 
sensitised  plate  enclosed  in  a  metal  box. 

Then  in  1896  came  Rontgen's  great  discovery  that 
the  rays  from  a  Crookes'  tube,  after  traversing  the 
glass,  could  pierce  opaque  matter.  He  covered  the 
tube  with  thick  cardboard,  but  found  that  it  would 
still  cast  the  shadows  of  books,  cards,  wood,  metals, 
the  human  hand,  &c.,  on  to  a  photographic  plate 
even  at  the  distance  of  some  feet.  The  rays  would 
also  pass  through  the  wood,  metal,  or  bones  in  course 
of  time  ;  but  certain  bodies,  notably  metals,  offered  a 
much  greater  resistance  than  others,  such  as  wood, 
leather,  and  paper.  Professor  Rontgen  crowned  his 
efforts  by  showing  that  a  skeleton  could  be  ^'  shadow- 
graphed"  while  its  owner  was  still  alive. 

Naturally  everybody  wished  to  know  not  only 
what  the  rays  could  do,  but  what  they  were. 
Rontgen,  not  being  able  to  identify  them  with 
any  known  rays,  took  refuge  in  the  algebraical 
symbol  of  the  unknown  quantity  and  dubbed  them 
X-rays.  He  discovered  this  much,  however,  that 
they  were  invisible  to  the  eye  under  ordinary  condi- 

197 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

tions  ;  that  they  travelled  in  straight  lines  only, 
passing  through  a  prism,  water,  or  other  refracting 
bodies  without  turning  aside  from  their  path  ;  and 
that  a  magnet  exerted  no  power  over  them.  This 
last  fact  was  sufficient  of  itself  to  prevent  their  con- 
fusion with  the  radiant  matter  <<  cathode  rays "  of 
the  tube.  Rdntgen  thought,  nevertheless,  that  they 
might  be  the  cathode  rays  transmuted  in  some 
manner  by  their  passage  through  the  glass,  so  as  to 
resemble  in  their  motion  sound-waves,  i.e,  moving 
straight  forward  and  not  swaying  from  side  to  side 
in  a  series  of  zig-zags.  The  existence  of  such  ether 
waves  had  for  some  time  before  been  suspected  by 
Lord  Kelvin. 

Other  authorities  have  other  theories.  We  may 
mention  the  view  that  X  represents  the  ultra- 
violet rays  of  the  spectrum,  caused  by  vibrations 
of  such  extreme  rapidity  as  to  be  imperceptible  to 
the  human  eye,  just  as  sounds  of  extremely  high 
pitch  are  inaudible  to  the  ear.  This  theory  is  to 
a  certain  extent  upheld  by  the  behaviour  of  the 
photographic  plate,  which  is  least  affected  by  the 
colours  of  the  spectrum  at  the  red  end  and  most 
by  those  at  the  violet  end.  A  photographer  is 
able  to  use  red  or  orange  light  in  his  dark 
room  because  his  plates  cannot  ^^  see "  them, 
though  he  can  ;  whereas  the  reverse  w^ould  be 
the  case  with  X-rays,  This  ultra-violet  theory 
claims  for  X-rays  a  rate  of  ether  vibration  of 
trillions  of  waves  per  second. 

198 


Photographing  the  Invisible 

An  alternative  theory  is  to  relegate  the  rays  to 
the  gap  in  the  scale  of  ether-waves  between  heat- 
waves and  light-waves.  But  this  does  not  explain 
any  more  satisfactorily  than  the  other  the  peculiar 
phenomenon  of  non-refraction. 

The  apparatus  employed  in  X-photography  con- 
sists of  a  Crookes*  tube  of  a  special  type,  a  powerful 
shocking  or  induction  coil,  a  fluorescent  screen 
and  photographic  plates  and  appliances  for  de- 
veloping, &c.,  besides  a  supply  of  high-pressure 
electricity  derived  from  the  main,  a  small  dynamo 
or  batteries. 

A  Crookes'  tube  is  four  to  five  inches  in  diameter, 
globular  in  its  middle  portion,  but  tapering  away 
towards  each  end.  Through  one  extremity  is  led 
a  platinum  wire,  terminating  in  a  saucer-shaped 
platinum  plate  an  inch  or  so  across.  At  the  focus 
of  this,  the  negative  terminal,  is  fixed  a  platinum 
plate  at  an  angle  to  the  path  of  the  rays  so  as 
to  deflect  them  through  the  side  of  the  tube.  The 
positive  terminal  penetrates  the  glass  at  one  side. 
The  tube  contains,  as  we  have  seen,  a  very  tiny 
residue  of  air.  If  this  were  entirely  exhausted  the 
action  of  the  tube  would  cease ;  so  that  some 
tubes  are  so  arranged  that  when  rarefaction  be- 
comes too  high  the  passage  of  an  electrical  current 
through  small  bars  of  chemicals,  whose  ends  pro- 
ject through  the  sides  of  the  tube,  liberates  gas 
from  the  bars  in  sufficient  quantity  to  render  the 
tube  active  again. 

199 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

When  the  Ruhmkorff  induction  coil  is  joined 
to  the  electric  circuit  a  series  of  violent  discharges 
of  great  rapidity  occur  between  the  tube  terminals, 
resembling  in  their  power  the  discharge  of  a  Leyden 
jar,  though  for  want  of  a  dense  atmosphere  the 
brilliant  spark  has  been  replaced  by  a  glow  and 
brush-light  in  the  tube.  The  coil  is  of  large  dimen- 
sions, capable  of  passing  a  spark  across  an  air- 
gap  of  ten  to  twelve  inches.  It  will  perhaps  increase 
the  reader's  respect  for  X-rays  to  learn  that  a 
coil  of  proper  size  contains  upwards  of  thirteen 
miles  of  wire ;  though  indeed  this  quantity  is 
nothing  in  comparison  with  the  150  miles  wound 
on  the  huge  inductorium  formerly  exhibited  at 
the  London   Polytechnic. 

If  we  were  invited  to  an  X-ray  demonstration 
we  should  find  the  operator  and  his  apparatus  in 
a  darkened  room.  He  turns  on  the  current  and 
the  darkness  is  broken  by  a  velvety  glow  sur- 
rounding the  negative  terminal,  which  gradually 
extends  until  the  w^hole  tube  becomes  clothed  in 
a  green  phosphorescence.  A  sharply-defined  line 
athwart  the  tube  separates  the  shadowed  part  be- 
hind the  receiving  plate  at  the  negative  focus — 
now  intensely  hot — from  that  on  which  the  re- 
flected rays  fall  directly. 

One  of  us  is  now  invited  to  extend  a  hand 
close  to  the  tube.  The  operator  then  holds  on 
the  near  side  of  the  hand  his  fluorescent  screen, 
which  is  nothing  more  than  a  framework   support- 

200 


Photographing  the  Invisible 

ing  a  paper  smeared  on  one  side  with  platino- 
cyanide  of  barium,  a  chemical  that,  in  common 
with  several  others,  was  discovered  by  Salvioni  of 
Perugia  to  be  sensitive  to  the  rays  and  able  to 
make  them  visible  to  the  human  eye.  The  value 
of  the  screen  to  the  X-radiographer  is  that  of  the 
ground-glass  plate  to  the  ordinary  photographer, 
as  it  allows  him  to  see  exactly  what  things  are 
before  the  sensitised  plate  is  brought  into  position, 
and  in  fact  largely  obviates  the  necessity  for  making 
a  permanent  record. 

The  screen  shows  clearly  and  in  full  detail  all 
the  bones  of  the  hand — so  clearly  that  one  is 
almost  irresistibly  drawn  to  peep  behind  to  see  if 
a  real  hand  is  there.  One  of  us  now  extends  an 
arm  and  the  screen  shows  us  the  ulna  and  the 
radius  working  round  each  other,  now  both  visible, 
now  one  obscuring  the  other.  On  presenting  the 
body  to  the  course  of  the  rays  a  remarkable 
shadow  is  cast  on  to  the  screen.  The  spinal 
column  and  the  ribs ;  the  action  of  the  heart  and 
lungs  are  seen  quite  distinctly.  A  deep  breath 
causes  the  movement  of  a  dark  mass — the  liver. 
There  is  no  privacy  in  presence  of  the  rays.  The 
enlarged  heart,  the  diseased  lung,  the  ulcerated 
liver  betrays  itself  at  once.  In  a  second  of  time 
the  phosphorescent  screen  reveals  what  might  baulk 
medical  examination  for  months. 

If  a  photographic  slide  containing  a  dry-plate 
be    substituted    for    the    focusing-screen,    the    rays 

20I 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

soon  penetrate  any  covering  in  which  the  plate 
may  be  wrapped  to  protect  it  from  ordinary  light 
rays.  The  process  of  taking  a  shadowgraph  may 
therefore  be  conducted  in  broad  daylight,  which 
is  under  certain  conditions  a  great  advantage, 
though  the  sensitiveness  of  plates  exposed  to 
Rontgen  rays  entails  special  care  being  taken  of 
them  when  they  are  not  in  use.  In  the  early 
days  of  X-radiography  an  exposure  of  some 
minutes  was  necessary  to  secure  a  negative,  but 
now,  thanks  to  the  improvements  in  the  tubes,  a 
few  seconds  is  often  sufficient. 

The  discovery  of  the  X-rays  is  a  great  discovery, 
because  it  has  done  much  to  promote  the  noblest 
possible  cause,  the  alleviation  of  human  suffering. 
Not  everybody  will  appreciate  a  more  rapid  mode 
of  telegraphy,  or  a  new  method  of  spinning  yarn, 
but  the  dullest  intellect  will  give  due  credit  to  a 
scientific  process  that  helps  to  save  life  and  limb. 
Who  among  us  is  not  liable  to  break  an  arm  or  leg, 
or  suffer  from  internal  injuries  invisible  to  the  eye  ? 
Who  among  us  therefore  should  not  be  thankful  on 
reflecting  that,  in  event  of  such  a  mishap,  the  X-rays 
will  be  at  hand  to  show  just  what  the  trouble  is, 
how  to  deal  with  it,  and  how  far  the  healing  ad- 
vances day  by  day  ?  The  X-ray  apparatus  is  now 
as  necessary  for  the  proper  equipment  of  a  hospital 
as  a  camera  for  that  of  a  photographic  studio. 

It  is  especially  welcome  in  the  hospitals  which 
accompany  an  army  into  the  field.     Since  May  1896 

202 


Photographing  the  Invisible 

many  a  wounded  soldier  has  had  reason  to  bless  the 
patient  work  that  led  to  the  discovery  at  Wiirzburg. 
The  Greek  war,  the  war  in  Cuba,  the  Tirah  cam- 
paign, the  Egyptian  campaign,  and  the  war  in  South 
Africa,  have  given  a  quick  succession  of  fine  oppor- 
tunities for  putting  the  new  photography  to  the  test. 
These  is  now  small  excuse  for  the  useless  and  agon- 
ising probings  that  once  added  to  the  dangers  and 
horrors  of  the  military  hospital.  Even  if  the  X-ray 
equipment,  by  reason  of  its  weight,  cannot  con- 
veniently be  kept  at  the  front  of  a  rapidly  moving 
army,  it  can  be  set  up  in  the  **  advanced  "  or  ^^  base  " 
hospitals,  whither  the  wounded  are  sent  after  a  first 
rough  dressing  of  their  injuries.  The  medical  staff 
there  subject  their  patients  to  the  searching  rays,  are 
able  to  record  the  exact  position  of  a  bullet  or  shell- 
fragment,  and  the  damage  it  has  done  ;  and  by 
promptly  removing  the  intruder  to  greatly  lessen 
its  power  to  harm. 

The  R5ntgen  ray  has  added  to  the  surgeon's  ar- 
moury a  powerful  weapon.  Its  possibilities  are  not 
yet  fully  known,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it 
marks  a  new  epoch  in  surgical  work.  And  for  this 
reason  Professor  R5ntgen  deserves  to  rank  with 
Harvey,  the  discoverer  of  the  blood's  circulation  ; 
with  Jenner,  the  father  of  vaccination  ;  and  with  Sir 
James  Young  Simpson,  the  first  doctor  to  use  chloro- 
form as  an  anaesthetic. 


203 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 


Photography  in  the  Dark. 

Strange  as  it  seems  to  take  photographs  with  in- 
visible rays,  it  is  still  stranger  to  be  able  to  affect 
sensitised  plates  without  apparently  the  presence  of 
any  kind  of  rays. 

Professor  W.  J.  Russell,  Vice-President  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  London,  has  discovered  that  many 
substances  have  the  power  of  impressing  their  out- 
lines automatically  on  a  sensitive  film,  if  the  sub- 
stance be  placed  in  a  dark  cupboard  in  contact  with, 
or  very  close  to  a  dry-plate. 

After  some  hours,  or  it  may  be  days,  development 
of  the  plate  will  reveal  a  distinct  impression  of  the 
body  in  question.  Dr.  Russell  experimented  with 
wood,  metal,  leaves,  drawings,  printed  matter,  lace. 
Zinc  proved  to  be  an  unusually  active  agent.  A 
plate  of  the  metal,  highly  polished  and  then  ruled 
with  patterns,  had  at  the  end  of  a  few  days  imparted 
a  record  of  every  scratch  and  mark  to  the  plate. 
And  not  only  will  zinc  impress  itself,  but  it  affects 
substances  which  are  not  themselves  active,  throwing 
shadowgraphs  on  to  the  plate.  This  was  demon- 
strated with  samples  of  lace,  laid  between  a  plate  and 
a  small  sheet  of  bright  zinc  ;  also  with  a  skeleton 
leaf.  It  is  curious  that  while  the  interposition  of 
thin  films  of  celluloid,  gutta-percha,  vegetable  parch- 
ment, and  gold-beater's  skin — all  inactive — between 
the  zinc  and  the  plate  has  no   obstructive  effect,  a 

204 


Photography  in  the  Dark 

plate  of  thin  glass  counteracts  the  action  of  the  zinc. 
Besides  zinc,  nickel,  aluminium,  pewter,  lead,  and 
tin  among  the  metals  influence  a  sensitised  plate. 
Another  totally  different  substance,  printer's  ink,  has 
a  similar  power  ;  or  at  least  some  printer's  ink,  for 
Professor  Russell  found  that  different  samples  varied 
greatly  in  their  effects.  What  is  especially  curious, 
the  printed  matter  on  both  sides  of  a  piece  of  news- 
paper appeared  on  the  plate,  and  that  the  effect  pro- 
ceeded from  the  ink  and  not  from  any  rays  passing 
from  beyond  it  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  type 
came  out  dark  in  the  development,  whereas  if  it  had 
been  a  case  of  shadowgraphy,  the  ink  by  intercepting 
rays  would  have  produced  white  letters.  Professor 
Russell  has  also  shown  that  modern  writing  ink  is 
incapable  of  producing  an  impression  unaided,  but 
that  on  the  other  hand  paper  written  on  a  hundred 
years  ago  or  a  printed  book  centuries  old  will,  with 
the  help  of  zinc,  yield  a  picture  in  which  even  faded 
and  uncertain  characters  appear  quite  distinctly. 
This  opens  the  way  to  a  practical  use  of  the 
discovery,  in  the  deciphering  of  old  and  partly 
obliterated  manuscripts. 

A  very  interesting  experiment  may  be  made  with 
that  useful  possession — a  five-pound  note.  Place  the 
note  printed  side  next  to  the  plate,  and  the  printing 
appears  dark  ;  but  insert  the  note  between  a  zinc 
sheet  and  the  plate,  its  back  being  this  time  towards 
the  sensitised  surface,  and  the  printing  appears  white; 
and  the  zinc,  after  contact  with  the  printed  side,  will 

205 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

itself  yield  a  picture  of  the  inscription  as  though  it 
had  absorbed  some  virtue  from  the  note  I 

As  explanation  of  this  paradoxical  dark  photo- 
graphy— or  whatever  it  is — two  theories  may  be 
advanced.  The  one — favoured  by  Professor  Russell 
— is  that  all  *^  active  "  substances  give  off  vapours 
able  to  act  on  a  photographic  plate.  In  support 
of  this  may  be  urged  the  fact  that  the  interposition 
of  glass  prevents  the  making  of  dark  pictures.  But 
on  the  other  hand  it  must  be  remembered  that  cel- 
luloid and  sheet-gelatine,  also  air-tight  substances,  are 
able  to  store  up  light  and  to  give  it  out  again.  It  is 
well  known  among  photographers  that  to  allow  sun- 
light to  fall  on  the  inside  of  a  camera  is  apt  to  have 
a  <*  fogging  "  effect  on  a  plate  that  is  exposed  in  the 
camera  afterwards,  though  the  greatest  care  be  taken 
to  keep  all  external  light  from  the  plate.  But  here 
the  glass  again  presents  a  difficulty,  for  if  this  were  a 
case  of  reflected  light,  glass  would  evidently  be  less 
obstructive  than  opaque  vegetable  parchment  or 
gutta-percha 


206 


SOLAR   MOTORS. 

One  day  George  Stephenson  and  a  friend  stood 
watching  a  train  drawn  by  one  of  his  locomotives. 

*'  What  moves  that  train  ?  "  asked  Stephenson. 

"The  engine/'  replied  his  friend. 

"  And  what  moves  the  engine  ?  " 

"  The  steam." 

**  And  what  produces  the  steam  ?  " 

^'  Coal." 

"  And  what  produces  coal  ?  " 

This  last  query  nonplussed  his  friend^  and  Stephen- 
son himself  replied,  <<  The  sun." 

The  ^'  bottled  sunshine  "  that  drove  the  locomotive 
was  stored  up  millions  of  years  ago  in  the  dense 
forests  then  covering  the  face  of  the  globe.  Every 
day  vegetation  was  built  by  the  sunbeams,  and  in 
the  course  of  ages  this  growth  was  crushed  into 
fossil  form  by  the  pressure  of  high-piled  rock  and 
debris.  To-day  we  cast  "  black  diamonds  "  into  our 
grates  and  furnaces,  to  call  out  the  warmth  and 
power  that  is  a  legacy  from  a  period  long  prior  to 
the  advent  of  fire-loving  man,  often  forgetful  of  its 
real  source. 

We  see  the  influence  of  the  sun  more  directly 
in   the   motions  of   wind  and  water.     Had  not  the 

207 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

sun's  action  deposited  snow  and  rain  on  the  uplands 
of  the  world;  there  would  be  no  roaring  waterfall, 
no  rushing  torrent,  no  smooth-flowing  stream.  But 
for  the  sun  heating  the  atmosphere  unequally,  there 
would  not  be  that  rushing  of  cool  air  to  replace 
hot  which  we  know  as  wind. 

We  press  Sol  into  our  service  when  we  burn  fuel ; 
our  wind-mills  and  water-mills  make  him  our  slave. 
Of  late  years  many  prophets  have  arisen  to  warn 
us  that  we  must  not  be  too  lavish  of  our  coal ;  that 
the  time  is  not  so  far  distant,  reckoning  by  centuries, 
when  the  coal-seams  of  the  world  will  be  worked 
out  and  leave  our  descendants  destitute  of  what  plays 
so  important  a  part  in  modern  life.  Now,  though 
waste  is  unpardonable,  and  the  care  for  posterity 
praiseworthy,  there  really  seems  to  be  no  good  reason 
why  we  should  alarm  ourselves  about  the  welfare 
of  the  people  of  the  far  future.  Even  if  coal  fails, 
the  winds  and  the  rivers  will  be  there,  and  the  huge 
unharnessed  energy  of  the  tides,  and  the  sun  himself 
is  ready  to  answer  appeals  for  help,  if  rightly  shaped. 
He  does  not  demand  the  prayers  of  Persian  fire- 
worshippers,  but  rather  the  scientific  gathering  of 
his  good  gifts. 

Place  your  hand  on  a  roof  lying  square  to  the 
summer  sun,  and  you  will  find  it  too  hot  for  the 
touch.  Concentrate  a  beam  of  sunshine  through  a 
small  burning-glass.  How  fierce  is  the  small  glowing 
focal  spot  that  makes  us  draw  our  hands  suddenly 
away !     Suppose  now  a  large  glass  many  feet  across 

208 


Solar  Motors 

bending  several  square  yards  of  sun  rays  to  a  point, 
and  at  that  point  a  boiler.  The  boiler  would  develop 
steam,  and  the  steam  might  be  led  into  cylinders 
and  forced  to  drudge  for  us. 

Do  many  of  us  realise  the  enormous  energy  of 
a  hot  summer's  day  ?  The  heat  falling  in  the  tropics 
on  a  single  square  foot  of  the  earth's  surface  has 
been  estimated  as  the  equivalent  of  one-third  of  a 
horse-power.  The  force  of  Niagara  itself  would  on 
this  basis  be  matched  by  the  sunshine  streaming  on 
to  a  square  mile  or  so.  A  steamship  might  be  pro- 
pelled by  the  heat  that  scorches  its  decks. 

For  many  centuries  inventors  have  tried  to  utilise 
this  huge  waste  power.  We  all  know  how,  according 
to  the  story,  Archimedes  burnt  up  the  Roman  ships 
besieging  his  native  town,  Syracuse,  by  concentrating 
on  them  the  sun  heat  cast  from  hundreds  of  mirrors. 
This  story  is  less  probable  than  interesting  as  a  proof 
that  the  ancients  were  aware  of  the  sun's  power. 
The  first  genuine  solar  machine  was  the  work  of 
Ericsson,  the  builder  of  the  Monitor,  He  focused  sun 
heat  on  a  boiler,  which  gave  the  equivalent  of  one 
horse-power  for  every  hundred  square  feet  of  mirrors 
employed.  This  was  not  what  engineers  would  call 
a  "  high  efficiency,"  a  great  deal  of  heat  being  wasted, 
but  it  led  the  way  to  further  improvements. 

In  America,  especially  in  the  dry,  arid  regions, 
where  fuel  is  scarce  and  the  sun  shines  pitilessly  day 
after  day,  all  the  year  round,  sun-catchers  of  various 
types   have  been    erected    and    worked   successfully. 

209  o 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Dr.  William  Calver,  of  Washington,  has  built  in  the 
barren  wastes  of  Arizona  huge  frames  of  mirrors, 
travelling  on  circular  rails,  so  that  they  may  be 
brought  to  face  the  sun  at  all  hours  between  sunrise 
and  sunset.  Dr.  Calver  employs  no  less  than  1600 
mirrors.  As  each  of  these  mirrors  develops  10-15 
degrees  of  heat  it  is  obvious,  after  an  appeal  to 
simple  arithmetic,  that  the  united  efforts  of  these 
reflectors  should  produce  the  tremendous  temperature 
16,000—24,000  degrees,  which,  expressed  compara- 
tively, means  the  paltry  90  degrees  in  the  shade 
beneath  which  we  grow  restive  multiplied  hundreds 
of  times.  Hitherto  the  greatest  known  heat  had 
been  that  of  the  arc  of  the  electric  lamp,  in  which 
the  incandescent  particles  between  pole  and  pole 
attain   6000   degrees    Fahrenheit. 

The  combined  effect  of  the  burning  mirrors  is 
irresistible.  They  can,  we  are  told,  in  a  few  moments 
reduce  Russian  iron  to  the  consistency  of  warmed 
wax,  though  it  mocks  the  heat  of  many  blast-furnaces. 
They  will  bake  bricks  twenty  times  as  rapidly  as  any 
kiln,  and  the  bricks  produced  are  not  the  friable 
blocks  which  a  mason  chips  easily  with  his  trowel, 
but  bodies  so  hard  as  to  scratch  case-hardened  steel. 

There  are  at  work  in  California  sun-motors  of 
another  design.  The  reader  must  imagine  a  huge 
conical  lamp-shade  turned  over  on  to  its  smaller  end, 
its  inner  surface  lined  with  nearly  1800  mirrors  2 
feet  long  and  3  inches  broad,  the  whole  supported 
on  a  light  iron  framework,  and  he  will  have  a  good 

210 


Solar  Motors 

idea  of  the  apparatus  used  on  the  Pasadena  ostrich 
farm.  The  machine  is  arranged  in  mcridiany  that  is, 
at  right  angles  to  the  path  of  the  sun,  which  it  follows 
all  day  long  by  the  agency  of  clockwork.  In  the 
focus  of  the  mirrors  is  a  boiler,  13  feet  6  inches 
long,  coated  with  black,  heat-absorbing  substances. 
This  boiler  holds  over  100  gallons  of  water,  and 
being  fed  automatically  will  raise  steam  untended 
all  the  day  through.  The  steam  is  led  by  pipes  to 
an  engine  working  a  pump,  capable  of  delivering 
1400  gallons  per  minute. 

The  cheapness  of  the  apparatus  in  proportion  to 
its  utility  is  so  marked  that,  in  regions  where  sun- 
shine is  almost  perpetual,  the  solar  motor  will  in 
time  become  as  common  as  are  windmills  and  factory 
chimneys  elsewhere.  If  the  heat  falling  on  a  few 
square  yards  of  mirror  lifts  nearly  100,000  gallons 
of  water  an  hour,  there  is  indeed  hope  for  the 
Sahara,  the  Persian  Desert,  Arabia,  Mongolia,  Mexico, 
Australia.  That  is  to  say,  if  the  water  under  the 
earth  be  in  these  parts  as  plentiful  as  the  sunshine 
above  it.  The  effect  of  water  on  the  most  un- 
promising soil  is  marvellous.  Already  in  Algeria 
the  French  have  reclaimed  thousands  of  square  miles 
by  scientific  irrigation.  In  Australia  huge  artesian 
wells  have  made  habitable  for  man  and  beast  millions 
of  acres  that  were  before  desert. 

It  is  only  a  just  retribution  that  the  sun  should 
be  harnessed  and  compelled  to  draw  water  for  tracts 
to  which  he  has  so  long  denied  it.     The  sun-motor 

211 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

is  only  just  entering  on  its  useful  career,  and  at 
present  we  can  but  dream  of  the  great  effects  it  may 
have  on  future  civilisation.  Yet  its  principle  is  so 
simple,  so  scientific,  and  so  obvious,  that  it  is  easy 
to  imagine  it  at  no  far  distant  date  a  dangerous  rival 
to  King  Coal  himself.  To  quarry  coal  from  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  and  transform  it  into  heat,  is 
to  traverse  two  sides  of  a  triangle,  the  third  being 
to  use  the  sunshine  of  the  passing  hour. 


212 


^  LIQUID    AIR. 

Among  common  phenomena  few  are  more  interest- 
ing than  the  changes  undergone  by  the  substance 
called  water.  Its  usual  form  is  a  liquid.  Under  the 
influence  of  frost  it  becomes  hard  as  iron,  brittle  as 
glass.  At  the  touch  of  fire  it  passes  into  unsub- 
stantial vapour. 

This  transformation  illustrates  the  great  principle 
that  the  form  of  every  substance  in  the  universe  is  a 
question  of  heat.  A  metal  transported  from  the 
earth  to  the  sun  would  first  melt  and  then  vaporise ; 
while  what  we  here  know  only  as  vapours  would  in 
the  moon  turn  into  liquids. 

We  notice  that,  as  regards  bulk,  the  most  striking 
change  is  from  liquid  to  gaseous  form.  In  steam 
the  atoms  and  molecules  of  water  are  endowed  with 
enormous  repulsive  vigour.  Each  atom  suddenly 
shows  a  huge  distaste  for  the  company  of  its  neigh- 
bours, drives  them  off,  and  endeavours  to  occupy 
the  largest  possible  amount  of  private  space. 

Now,  though  we  are  accustomed  to  see  water- 
atoms  thus  stirred  into  an  activity  which  gives  us  the 
giant  steam  as  servant,  it  has  probably  fallen  to  the 
lot  of  but  few  of  us  to  encounter  certain  gaseous 
substances  so  utterly  deprived  of  their  self-assertive- 

213 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

ness  as  to  collapse  into  a  liquid  mass,  in  which  shape 
they  are  quite  strangers  to  us.  What  gaseous  body 
do  we  know  better  than  the  air  we  breathe  ?  and 
what  should  we  less  expect  to  be  reducible  to  the 
consistency  of  water  ?  Yet  science  has  lately 
brought  prominently  into  notice  that  strange  child 
of  pressure  and  cold,  Liquid  Air  ;  of  which  great 
things  are  prophesied,  and  about  which  many  strange 
facts  may  be  told. 

Very  likely  our  readers  have  sometimes  noticed  a 
porter  uncoupling  the  air-tube  between  two  railway 
carriages.  He  first  turns  off  the  tap  at  each  end  of 
the  tube,  and  then  by  a  twist  disconnects  a  joint  in 
the  centre.  At  the  moment  of  disconnection  what 
appears  to  be  a  small  cloud  of  steam  issues  from  the 
joint.  This  is,  however,  the  result  of  cold,  not  heat, 
the  tube  being  full  of  highly-compressed  air,  which 
by  its  sudden  expansion  develops  cold  sufficient  to 
freeze  any  particles  of  moisture  in  the  surrounding 
air. 

Keep  this  in  mind,  and  also  what  happens  when 
you  inflate  your  cycle-tyre.  The  air-pump  grows 
hotter  and  hotter  as  inflation  proceeds :  until  at  last, 
if  of  metal,  it  becomes  uncomfortably  warm.  The 
heat  is  caused  by  the  forcing  together  of  air- 
molecules,  and  inasmuch  as  all  force  produces  heat, 
your  strength  is  transformed  into  warmth. 

In  these  two  operations,  compression  and  expan- 
sion, we  have  the  key  to  the  creation  of  liquid  air — 
the  great  power,  as  some  say,  of  to-morrow. 

214 


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Liquid  Air 


Suppose  we  take  a  volume  of  air  and  squeeze  it 
into  rhj  of  its  original  space.  The  combativeness 
of  the  air-atoms  is  immensely  increased.  They 
pound  each  other  frantically,  and  become  very 
hot  in  the  process.  Now,  by  cooling  the  vessel  in 
which  they  are,  we  rob  them  of  their  energy.  They 
become  quiet,  but  they  are  much  closer  than  before. 
Then  imagine  that  all  of  a  sudden  we  let  them  loose 
again.  The  life  is  gone  out  of  them,  their  heat  has 
departed,  and  on  separating  they  shiver  grievously. 
In  other  words,  the  heat  contained  by  the  t^  volume 
is  suddenly  compelled  to  ^*  spread  itself  thin  "  over 
the  whole  volume :  result — intense  cold.  And  if 
this  air  be  brought  to  bear  upon  a  second  vessel 
filled  likewise  with  compressed  air,  the  cold  will  be 
even  more  intense,  until  at  last  the  air-atoms  lose  all 
their  strength  and  collapse  into  a  liquid. 

Liquid  air  is  no  new  thing.  Who  first  made  it  is 
uncertain.  The  credit  has  been  claimed  for  several 
people,  among  them  Olzewski,  a  Pole,  and  Pictet,  a 
Swiss.  As  a  mere  laboratory  experiment  the  manu- 
facture of  liquid  air  in  small  quantities  has  been 
known  for  twenty  years  or  more.  The  earlier  process 
was  one  of  terrific  compression  alone,  actually 
forcing  the  air  molecules  by  sheer  strength  into  such 
close  contact  that  their  antagonism  to  one  another 
was  temporarily  overcome.  So  expensive  was  the 
process  that  the  first  ounce  of  liquid  air  is  estimated 
to  have  cost  over  ;f  600  ! 

In  order  to  make  liquid  air  an  article  of  commerce 

215 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  most  important  condition  was  a  wholesale 
decrease  in  cost  of  production.  In  1857  C.  W. 
Siemens  took  out  a  patent  for  making  the  liquid  on 
what  is  known  as  the  regenerative  principle,  whereby 
the  compressed  air  is  chilled  by  expanding  a  part  of  ' 
it.  Professor  Dewar — a  scientist  well  known  for  his 
researches  in  the  field  of  Hquid  gases — had  in  1892 
produced  liquid  air  by  a  modification  of  the  principle 
at  comparatively  small  cost  ;  and  other  inventors 
have  since  then  still  further  reduced  the  expense, 
until  at  the  present  day  there  appears  to  be  a 
prospect  of  liquid  air  becoming  cheap  enough  to 
prove  a  dangerous  rival  to  steam  and  electricity. 

A  company,  known  as  the  Liquid  Air,  Power 
and  Automobile  Company,  has  established  large 
plants  in  America  and  England  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  liquid  on  a  commercial  scale.  The 
writer  paid  a  visit  to  their  depot  in  Gillingham 
Street,  London,  where  he  was  shown  the  process 
by  Mr.  Hans  Knudsen,  the  inventor  of  much  of 
the  machinery  there  used.  The  reader  will  doubt- 
less like  to  learn  the  *'  plain,  unvarnished  truth " 
about  the  creation  of  this  peculiar  liquid,  and  to 
hear  of  the  freaks  in  which  it  indulges — if  indeed 
those  may  be  called  freaks  which  are  but  obedi- 
ence to  the  unchanging  laws  of  Nature. 

On  entering  the  factory  the  first  thing  that 
strikes  the  eye  and  ear  is  the  monstrous  fifty  horse- 
power gas-engine,  pounding  away  with  an  energy 
that  shakes  the  whole  building.     From  its  ponder- 

216 


Liquid  Air 


ous  flywheels  great  leather  belts  pass  to  the  com- 
pressors, three  in  number,  by  which  the  air,  drawn 
from  outside  the  building  through  special  purifiers, 
is  subjected  to  an  increasing  pressure.  Three  dials 
on  the  wall  show  exactly  what  is  going  on  inside 
the  compressors.  The  first  stands  at  90  lbs.  to 
the  square  inch,  the  second  at  500,  and  the  third 
at  2200,  or  rather  less  than  a  ton  pressure  on  the 
area  of  a  penny !  The  pistons  of  the  low-pressure 
compressor  is  ten  inches  in  diameter,  but  that  of 
the  high  pressure  only  two  inches,  or  ^  of  the  area, 
so  great  is  the  resistance  to  be  overcome  in  the 
last  stage  of  compression. 

Now,  if  the  cycle-pump  heats  our  hands,  it  will 
be  easily  understood  that  the  temperature  of  the 
compressors  is  very  high.  They  are  water-jacketed 
like  the  cylinders  of  a  gas-engine,  so  that  a  circu- 
lating stream  of  cold  water  may  absorb  some  of 
the  heat.  The  compressed  air  is  passed  through 
spiral  tubes  winding  through  large  tanks  of  water 
which  fairly  boils  from  the  fierceness  of  the  heat 
of  compression. 

When  the  air  has  been  sufficiently  cooled  it  is 
allowed  to  pass  into  a  small  chamber,  expanding 
as  it  goes,  and  from  the  small  into  a  larger  chamber, 
where  the  cold  of  expansion  becomes  so  acute 
that  the  air-molecules  collapse  into  liquid,  which 
collects  in  a  special  receptacle.  Arrangements  are 
made  whereby  any  vapour  rising  from  the  liquid 
passes    through    a    space    outside    the    expansion- 

217 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

chambers,  so  that  it  helps  to  cool  the  incoming 
air  and  is  not  wasted. 

The  liquid-air  tank  is  inside  a  great  wooden  case, 
carefully  protected  from  the  heat  of  the  atmos- 
phere by  non-conducting  substances.  A  tap  being 
turned,  a  rush  of  vapour  shoots  out,  soon  followed 
by  a  clear,  bluish  liquid,  which  is  the  air  we  breathe 
in  a  fresh  guise. 

A  quantity  of  it  is  collected  in  a  saucepan.  It 
simmers  at  first,  and  presently  boils  like  water  on 
a  fire.  The  air-heat  is  by  comparison  so  great  that 
the  liquid  cannot  resist  it,  and  strives  to  regain 
its  former  condition. 

You  may  dip  your  finger  into  the  saucepan — 
if  you  withdraw  it  again  quickly — without  hurt. 
The  cushion  of  air  that  your  finger  takes  in  with 
it  protects  you  against  harm — for  a  moment.  But 
if  you  held  it  in  the  liquid  for  a  couple  of  seconds 
you  would  be  minus  a  digit.  Pour  a  little  over 
your  coat  sleeve.  It  flows  harmlessly  to  the 
ground,  where  it  suddenly  expands  into  a  cloud 
of  chilly  vapour. 

Put  some  in  a  test  tube  and  cork  it  up.  The 
cork  soon  flies  out  with  a  report — the  pressure 
of  the  boiling  air  drives  it.  Now  watch  the  boil- 
ing process.  The  nitrogen  being  more  volatile — 
as  it  boils  at  a  lower  temperature  than  oxygen — 
passes  off  first,  leaving  the  pure,  blue  oxygen.  The 
temperature  of  this  liquid  is  over  312  degrees 
below  zero  (as  far  below  the  temperature    of   the 

21S 


Liquid  Air 


air  we  breathe  as  the  temperature  of  molten  lead 
is  above  it !).  A  tumbler  of  liquid  oxygen  dipped 
into  water  is  soon  covered  with  a  coating  of  ice, 
which  can  be  detached  from  the  tumbler  and 
itself  used  as  a  cup  to  hold  the  liquid.  If  a  bit 
of  steel  wire  be  now  twisted  round  a  lighted 
match  and  the  whole  dipped  into  the  cup,  the 
steel  flares  fiercely  and  fuses  into  small  pellets ; 
which  means  that  an  operation  requiring  3000 
degrees  Fahrenheit  has  been  accomplished  in  a 
liquid  300  degrees  below  zero ! 

Liquid  air  has  curious  effects  upon  certain  sub- 
stances. It  makes  iron  so  brittle  that  a  ladle 
immersed  for  a  few  moments  may  be  crushed  in 
the  hands  ;  but,  curiously  enough,  it  has  a  tough- 
ening effect  on  copper  and  brass.  Meat,  eggs, 
fruit,  and  all  bodies  containing  water  become 
hard  as  steel  and  as  breakable  as  glass.  Mercury 
is  by  it  congealed  to  the  consistency  of  iron  ;  even 
alcohol,  that  can  brave  the  utmost  Arctic  cold, 
succumbs  to  it.  The  writer  was  present  when 
some  thermometers,  manufactured  by  Messrs. 
Negretti  and  Zambra,  were  tested  with  liquid  air. 
The  spirit  in  the  tubes  rapidly  descended  to  250 
degrees  below  zero,  then  sank  slowly,  and  at  about 
260  degrees  froze  and  burst  the  bulb.  The  mea- 
suring of  such  extreme  temperatures  is  a  very 
difficult  matter  in  consequence  of  the  inability  of 
spirit  to  withstand  them,  and  special  apparatus, 
registering    cold    by    the    shrinkage   of  metal,,  must 

219 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

be  used  for  testing  some  liquid  gases,  notably 
liquid  hydrogen,  which  is  so  much  colder  than 
liquid  air  that  it  actually  freezes  it  into  a  solid 
ice  form  1 

For  handling  and  transporting  liquid  gases  glass 
receptacles  with  a  double  skin  from  which  all 
air  has  been  exhausted  are  employed.  The  sur- 
rounding vacuum  is  so  perfect  an  insulator  that 
a  **  Dewar  bulb "  full  of  liquid  air  scarcely  cools 
the  hand,  though  the  intervening  space  is  less 
than  an  inch.  This  fact  is  hard  to  square  with 
the  assertion  of  scientific  men  that  our  atmosphere 
extends  but  a  hundred  or  two  miles  from  the 
earth's  surface,  and  that  the  recesses  of  space  are 
a  vacuum.  If  it  were  so,  how  would  heat  reach 
us  from  the  sun,  ninety-two  millions  of  miles 
away  ? 

One  use  at  least  for  liquid  air  is  sufficiently 
obvious.  As  a  refrigerating  agent  it  is  unequalled. 
Bulk  for  bulk  its  effect  is  of  course  far  greater  than 
that  of  ice ;  and  it  has  this  advantage  over  other 
freezing  compounds,  that  whereas  slow  freezing  has 
a  destructive  effect  upon  the  tissues  of  meat  and 
fruit,  the  instantaneous  action  of  liquid  air  has  no 
bad  results  when  the  thing  frozen  is  thawed  out 
again.  The  Liquid  Air  Company  therefore  proposes 
erecting  depots  at  large  ports  for  supplying  ships,  to 
preserve  the  food,  cool  the  cabins  in  the  tropics,  and, 
we  hope,  to  alleviate  some  of  the  horrors  of  the 
stokehold. 

220 


Liquid  Air 


Liquid  air  is  already  used  in  medical  and  surgical 
science.  In  surgery  it  is  substituted  for  anaesthetics, 
deadening  any  part  of  the  body  on  which  an  opera- 
tion has  to  be  performed.  In  fever  hospitals,  too, 
its  cooling  influence  will  be  welcomed  ;  and  liquid 
oxygen  takes  the  places  of  compressed  oxygen  for 
reviving  the  flickering  flame  of  life.  It  will  also 
prove  invaluable  for  divers  and  submarine  boats. 

In  combination  with  oil  and  charcoal  liquid  air, 
under  the  name  of  '^  oxyliquit,"  becomes  a  powerful 
blasting  agent.  Cartridges  of  paper  filled  with  the 
oil  and  charcoal  are  provided  with  a  firing  primer. 
When  everything  is  ready  for  the  blasting  the  cart- 
ridges are  dropped  into  a  vessel  full  of  liquid  air, 
saturated,  placed  in  position,  and  exploded.  Mr, 
Knudsen  assured  the  writer  that  oxyliquit  is  twice 
as  powerful  as  nitro-glycerine,  and  its  cost  but  one- 
third  of  that  of  the  other  explosive.  It  is  also  safer 
to  handle,  for  in  case  of  a  misfire  the  cartridge  be- 
comes harmless  in  a  few  minutes,  after  the  liquid  air 
has  evaporated. 

But  the  greatest  use  will  be  found  for  liquid  air 
when  it  exerts  its  force  less  violently.  It  is  the 
result  of  power  ;  its  condition  is  abnormal  ;  and  its 
return  to  its  ordinary  state  is  accompanied  by  a 
great  development  of  energy.  If  it  be  placed  in  a 
closed  vessel  it  is  capable  of  exerting  a  pressure  of 
12,000  lbs.  to  the  square  inch.  Its  return  to  atmo- 
spheric condition  may  be  regulated  by  exposing  it 
more  or  less  to  the  heat  of  the  atmosphere.     So  long 

221 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

as  it  remains  liquid  it  represents  so  much  stored  forcty 
like  the  electricity  stored  in  accumulators.  The 
Liquid  Air  Company  have  at  their  Gillingham  Street 
depot  a  neat  little  motor  car  worked  by  liquid  air.  A 
copper  reservoir,  carefully  protected,  is  filled  with  the 
liquid,  which  is  by  mechanical  means  squirted  mto 
coils,  in  which  it  rapidly  expands,  and  from  them 
passes  to  the  cylinders.  A  charge  of  eighteen  gallons 
will  move  the  car  forty  miles  at  an  average  pace  of 
twelve  miles  an  hour,  without  any  of  the  noise,  dirt, 
smell,  or  vapour  inseparable  from  the  employment  of 
steam  or  petroleum.  The  speed  of  the  car  is  regulated 
by  the  amount  of  Hquid  injected  into  the  expansion 
coils. 

We  now  come  to  the  question  of  cost — the  un- 
romantic  balance  in  which  new  discoveries  are 
weighed  and  many  found  wanting.  The  storage 
of  liquid  air  is  feasible  for  long  periods.  (A  large 
vacuum  bulb  filled  and  exposed  to  the  atmosphere 
had  some  of  the  liquid  still  unevaporated  at  the  end 
of  twenty-two  days.)  But  will  it  be  too  costly  for 
ordinary  practical  purposes  now  served  by  steam  and 
electricity  ?  The  managers  of  the  Liquid  Air  Com- 
pany, while  deprecating  extravagant  prophecies  about 
the  future  of  their  commodity,  are  nevertheless  con- 
fident that  it  has  **come  to  stay."  With  the  small 
50  horse-power  plant  its  production  costs  upwards 
of  one  shilling  a  gallon,  but  with  much  larger  plant 
of  1000  horse-power  they  calculate  that  the  expenses 
will  be  covered  and  a  profit  left  if  they  retail  it  at 

222 


Liquid  Air 


but  one  penny  the  gallon.  This  great  reduction  in 
cost  arises  from  the  economising  of  ^^  waste  energy." 
In  the  first  place  the  power  of  expansion  previous  to 
the  liquefaction  of  the  compressed  air  will  be  utilised 
to  work  motors.  Secondly,  the  heat  of  the  cooling 
tanks  will  be  turned  to  account,  and  even  the 
'^  exhaust "  of  a  motor  would  be  cold  enough  for 
ordinary  refrigerating.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  get  more  out  of  a  thing  than  has  been  put  into  it  ; 
and  liquid  air  will  therefore  not  develop  even  as 
much  power  as  was  required  to  form  it.  But  its 
handiness  and  cleanliness  strongly  recommend  it  for 
many  purposes,  as  we  have  seen  ;  and  as  soon  as  it 
is  turned  out  in  large  quantities  new  uses  will  be 
found  for  it.  Perhaps  the  day  will  come  when 
liquid-air  motors  will  replace  the  petrol  car,  and  in 
every  village  we  shall  see  hung  out  the  sign,  **  Liquid 
air  sold  here."     As  the  French  say,  **  Quivivraverra." 


223 


HORSELESS   CARRIAGES. 

A  BODY  of  enterprising  Manchester  merchants,  in 
the  year  1754,  put  on  the  road  a  "flying  coach/' 
which,  according  to  their  special  advertisement, 
would,  "  however  incredible  it  may  appear,  actually, 
barring  accidents,  arrive  in  London  in  four  and  a 
half  days  after  leaving  Manchester."  According  to 
the  Lord  Chancellor  of  the  time  such  swift  travelling 
was  considered  dangerous  as  well  as  wonderful — 
the  condition  of  the  roads  might  well  make  it  so 
— and  also  injurious  to  health.  "  I  was  gravely 
advised,"  he  says,  "to  stay  a  day  in  York  on  my 
journey  between  Edinburgh  and  London,  as  several 
passengers  who  had  gone  through  without  stopping  had 
died  of  apoplexy  from  the  rapidity  of  the  motion." 

As  the  coach  took  a  fortnight  to  pass  from  the 
Scotch  to  the  English  capital,  at  an  average  pace 
of  between  three  and  four  miles  an  hour,  it  is 
probable  that  the  Chancellor's  advisers  would  be 
very  seriously  indisposed  by  the  mere  sight  of  a 
motor-car  whirling  along  in  its  attendant  cloud  of 
dust,  could  they  be  resuscitated  for  the  purpose. 
And  we,  on  the  other  hand,  should  prefer  to  get 
out  and  walk  to  "  flying  "  at  the  safe  speed  of  their 
mail  coaches. 

224 


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■c/to 


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00 


Horseless  Carriages 

The  improvement  of  highroads,  and  road-making 
generally,  accelerated  the  rate  of  posting.  In  the 
first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  an  average 
of  ten  or  even  twelve  miles  an  hour  was  maintained 
on  the  Bath  Road.  But  that  pace  was  considered 
inadequate  when  the  era  of  the  "  iron  horse  "  com- 
menced, and  the  decay  of  stage-driving  followed 
hard  upon  the  growth  of  railways.  What  should 
have  been  the  natural  successor  of  the  stage-coach 
was  driven  from  the  road  by  ill-advised  legislation, 
which  gave  the  railroads  a  monopoly  of  swift  trans- 
port, which  has  but  lately  been  removed. 

The  history  of  the  steam-coach,  steam-carriage, 
automobile,  motor-car — to  give  it  its  successive 
names — is  in  a  manner  unique,  showing  as  it  does, 
instead  of  steady  development  of  a  practical  means 
of  locomotion,  a  sudden  and  decisive  check  to  an 
invention  worthy  of  far  better  treatment  than  it 
received.  The  compiler  of  even  a  short  survey  of 
the  automobile's  career  is  obliged  to  divide  his 
account  into  two  main  portions,  Hnked  together  by 
a  few  solitary   engineering  achievements. 

The  first  period  (i  800-1836),  will,  without  any 
desire  to  arrogate  for  England  more  than  her  due 
or  to  belittle  the  efforts  of  any  other  nations,  be 
termed  the  English  period,  since  in  it  England  took 
the  lead,  and  produced  by  far  the  greatest  number 
of  steam-carriages.  The  second  (1870  to  the  present 
day)  may,  with  equal  justice,  be  styled  the  Continental 
period,  as  witnessing  the  great  developments  made 

225  P 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

in  automobilism  by  French,  German,  Belgian,  and 
American  engineers :  England,  for  reasons  that  will 
be  presently  noticed,  being  until  quite  recently  too 
heavily  handicapped  to  take  a  part  in  the  advance. 

Historical — It  is  impossible  to  discover  who  made 
the  first  self-moving  carriage.  In  the  sixteenth 
century  one  Johann  Haustach,  a  Nuremberg  watch- 
maker, produced  a  vehicle  that  derived  its  motive 
power  from  coiled  springs,  and  was  in  fact  a  large 
edition  of  our  modern  clockwork  toys.  About  the 
same  time  the  Dutch,  and  among  them  especially 
one  Simon  Stevin,  fitted  carriages  with  sails,  and 
there  are  records  of  a  steam-carriage  as  early  as  the 
same  century. 

But  the  first  practical,  and  at  least  semi-successful, 
automobile  driven  by  internal  force  was  undoubtedly 
that  of  a  Frenchman,  Nicholas  Joseph  Cugnot,  who 
justly  merits  the  title  of  father  of  automobilism.  His 
machine,  which  is  to-day  one  of  the  most  treasured 
exhibits  in  the  Paris  Museum  of  Arts  and  Crafts, 
consisted  of  a  large  carriage,  having  in  front  a  pivoted 
platform  bearing  the  machinery,  and  resting  on  a 
solid  wheel,  which  propelled  as  well  as  steered  the 
vehicle.  The  boiler,  of  stout  riveted  copper  plates, 
had  below  it  an  enclosed  furnace,  from  which  the 
flames  passed  upwards  through  the  water  through 
a  funnel.  A  couple  of  cylinders,  provided  with  a 
simple  reversing  gear,  worked  a  ratchet  that  com- 
municated motion  to  the  driving-wheel.  This  carriage 
did  not  travel  beyond  a  very  slow  walking  pace,  and 

226 


Horseless  Carriages 

Cugnot  therefore  added  certain  improvements,  after 
which  (1770)  it  reached  the  still  very  moderate  speed 
of  four  miles  an  hour,  and  distinguished  itself  by 
charging  and  knocking  down  a  wall,  a  feat  that  is 
said  to  have  for  a  time  deterred  engineers  from  de- 
veloping a  seemingly  dangerous  mode  of  progression. 

Ten  years  later  Dallery  built  a  steam  car,  and  ran 
it  in  the  streets  of  Amiens — we  are  not  told  with 
what  success  ;  and  before  any  further  advance  had 
been  made  with  the  automobile  the  French  Revolu- 
tion put  a  stop  to  all  inventions  of  a  peaceful  character 
among  our  neighbours. 

In  England,  however,  steam  had  already  been  re- 
cognised as  the  coming  power.  Richard  Trevethick, 
afterwards  to  become  famous  as  a  railroad  engineer, 
built  a  steam  motor  in  1802,  and  actually  drove  it 
from  Cambourne  to  Plymouth,  a  distance  of  ninety 
miles.  But  instead  of  following  up  this  success,  he 
forsook  steam-carriages  for  the  construction  of  loco- 
motives, leaving  his  idea  to  be  expanded  by  other 
men,  who  were  convinced  that  a  vehicle  which  could 
be  driven  over  existing  roads  was  preferable  to  one 
that  was  helpless  when  separated  from  smooth  metal 
rails.  Between  the  years  1800  and  1836  many  steam 
vehicles  for  road  traffic  appeared  from  time  to  time, 
some,  such  as  David  Gordon's  (propelled  by  metal 
legs  pressing  upon  the  ground),  strangely  unpractical, 
but  the  majority  showing  a  steady  improvement  in 
mechanical  design. 

As  it  will  be  impossible,  without  writing  a  small 

227 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

book,  to  name  all  the  English  constructors  of  this 
period,  we  must  rest  content  with  the  mention  of 
the  leading  pioneers  of  the  new  locomotion. 

Sir  Goldsworthy  Gurney,  an  eminent  chemist, 
did  for  mechanical  road  propulsion  what  George 
Stephenson  was  doing  for  railway  development.  He 
boldly  spent  large  sums  on  experimental  vehicles, 
which  took  the  form  of  six-wheeled  coaches.  The 
earliest  of  these  were  fitted  with  legs  as  well  as 
driving-wheels,  since  he  thought  that  in  difficult 
country  wheels  alone  would  not  have  sufficient  grip. 
(A  similar  fallacy  was  responsible  for  the  cogged 
wheels  on  the  first  railways.)  But  in  the  later  types 
legs  were  abandoned  as  unnecessary.  His  coaches 
easily  climbed  the  steepest  hills  round  London, 
including  High  gate  Hill,  though  a  thoughtful  ma- 
thematician had  proved  by  calculations  that  a  steam- 
carriage,  so  far  from  mounting  a  gradient,  could  not, 
without  violating  all  natural  laws,  so  much  as  move 
itself  on  the  level  1 

Having  satisfied  himself  of  their  power,  Gurney 
took  his  coaches  further  afield.  In  1829  was  pub- 
lished the  first  account  of  a  motor  trip  made  by  him 
and  three  companions  through  Reading,  Devizes,  and 
Melksham.  The  pace  was,  we  read,  at  first  only 
about  six  miles  an  hour,  including  stoppages.  They 
drove  very  carefully  to  avoid  injury  to  the  persons 
or  feelings  of  the  country  folk ;  but  at  Melksham, 
where  a  fair  was  in  progress,  they  had  to  face  a 
shower  of  stones,  hurled  by  a  crowd  of  roughs  at 

228 


Horseless  Carriages 

the  instigation  of  some  coaching  postilions,  who 
feared  losing  their  Hvelihood  if  the  new  method  of 
locomotion  became  general.  Two  of  the  tourists 
were  severely  hurt,  and  Gurney  was  obliged  to  take 
shelter  in  a  brewery,  where  constables  guarded  his 
coach.  On  the  return  journey  the  party  timed  their 
movements  so  as  to  pass  through  Melksham  while 
the  inhabitants  were  all  safely  in  bed. 

The  coach  ran  most  satisfactorily,  improving  every 
mile.  *'  Our  pace  was  so  rapid,"  wrote  one  of  the 
company,  **  that  the  horses  of  the  mail-cart  which 
accompanied  us  were  hard  put  to  it  to  keep  up  with 
us.  At  the  foot  of  Devizes  Hill  we  met  a  coach  and 
another  vehicle,  which  stopped  to  see  us  mount  this 
hill,  an  extremely  steep  one.  We  ascended  it  at  a 
rapid  rate.  The  coach  and  passengers,  delighted  at 
this  unexpected  sight,  honoured  us  with  shouts  of 
applause." 

In  1830  Messrs.  Ogle  and  Summers  completely 
beat  the  road  record  on  a  vehicle  fitted  with  a  tubular 
boiler.  This  car,  put  through  its  trials  before  a 
Special  Commission  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
attained  the  astonishing  speed  of  35  miles  an  hour 
on  the  level,  and  mounted  a  hill  near  Southampton 
at  24I  miles  an  hour.  It  worked  at  a  boiler  pres- 
sure of  250  lbs.  to  the  square  inch,  and  though  not 
hung  on  springs,  ran  800  miles  without  a  breakdown. 
This  performance  appears  all  the  more  extraordinary 
when  we  remember  the  roads  of  that  day  were  not 
generally  as  good  as  they  are  now,  and  that  in  the 

229 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

previous  year  Stephenson's  '^  Rocket/'  running  on 
rails,  had  not  reached  a  higher  velocity. 

The  report  of  the  Parliamentary  Commission  on 
horseless  carriages  was  most  favourable.  It  urged 
that  the  steam-driven  car  was  swifter  and  lighter  than 
the  mail-coaches  ;  better  able  to  climb  and  descend 
hills  ;  safer  ;  more  economical  ;  and  less  injurious 
to  the  roads  ;  and,  in  conclusion,  that  the  heavy 
charges  levied  at  the  toll-gates  (often  twenty  times 
those  on  horse  vehicles)  were  nothing  short  of  ini- 
quitous. 

As  a  result  of  this  report,  motor  services,  inaugu- 
rated by  Walter  Hancock,  Braithwayte,  and  others, 
commenced  between  Paddington  and  the  Bank, 
London  and  Greenwich,  London  and  Windsor, 
London  and  Stratford.  Already,  in  1829,  Sir 
Charles  Dance  had  a  steam-coach  running  between 
Cheltenham  and  Gloucester.  In  four  months  it  ran 
3500  miles  and  carried  3000  passengers,  traversing 
the  nine  miles  in  three-quarters  of  an  hour  ;  although 
narrow-minded  landowners  placed  ridges  of  stone 
eighteen  inches  deep  on  the  road  by  way  of  protest. 

The  most  ambitious  service  of  all  was  that  be- 
tween London  and  Birmingham,  established  in  1833 
by  Dr.  Church.  The  rolling-stock  consisted  of  a 
single  very  much  decorated  coach. 

The  success  of  the  road-steamer  seemed  now 
assured,  when  a  cloud  appeared  on  the  horizon.  It 
had  already  been  too  successful.  The  railway  com- 
panies were  up  in  arms.     They  saw  plainly  that  if 

230 


Horseless  Carriages 

once  the  roads  were  covered  with  vehicles  able  to 
transport  the  public  at  low  fares  quickly  from  door 
to  door  on  existing  thoroughfares,  the  construction 
of  expensive  railroads  would  be  seriously  hindered, 
if  not  altogether  stopped.  So,  taking  advantage  of 
two  motor  accidents,  the  companies  appealed  to 
Parliament — full  of  horse-loving  squires  and  manu- 
facturers, who  scented  profit  in  the  railways — and 
though  scientific  opinion  ran  strongly  in  favour  of 
the  steam-coach,  a  law  was  passed  in  1836  which 
rendered  the  steamers  harmless  by  robbing  them  of 
their  speed.  The  fiat  went  forth  that  in  future  every 
road  locomotive  should  he  preceded  at  a  distance  of  a  hun- 
dred yards  by  a  man  on  foot  carrying  a  red  flag  to  warn 
passengers  of  its  approach.  This  law  marks  the  end 
of  the  first  period  of  automobilism  as  far  as  England 
is  concerned.  At  one  blow  it  crippled  a  great 
industry,  deprived  the  community  of  a  very  valuable 
means  of  transport,  and  crushed  the  energies  of 
many  clever  inventors  who  would  soon,  if  we  may 
judge  by  the  rapid  advances  already  made  in  con- 
struction, have  brought  the  steam-carriage  to  a  high 
pitch  of  perfection.  In  the  very  year  in  which  they 
were  suppressed  the  steam  services  had  proved  their 
efficiency  and  safety.  Hancock's  London  service 
alone  traversed  4200  miles  without  serious  accident, 
and  was  so  popular  that  the  coaches  were  generally 
crowded.  It  is  therefore  hard  to  believe  that  these 
vehicles  did  not  supply  a  public  want,  or  that  they 
were  regarded  by  those  who  used  them  as  in  any 

231 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

way  inferior  to  horse-drawn  coaches.  Yet  ignorant 
prejudice  drove  them  off  the  road  for  sixty  years  ; 
and  to-day  it  surprises  many  Englishmen  to  learn 
that  what  is  generally  considered  a  novel  method  of 
travelling  was  already  fairly  well  developed  in  the 
time  of  their  grandfathers. 

Second  Period  (1870  onwards). — To  follow  the 
further  development  of  the  automobile  we  must 
cross  the  Channel  once  again.  French  invention  had 
not  been  idle  while  Gurney  and  Hancock  were  build- 
ing their  coaches.  In  1835  ^^'  Dietz  established  a 
service  between  Versailles  and  Paris,  and  the  same 
year  M.  D'Asda  carried  out  some  successful  trials 
of  his  steam  *'  diligence  "  under  the  eyes  of  Royalty. 
But  we  find  that  for  the  next  thirty-five  years  the 
steam-carriage  was  not  much  improved,  owing  to 
want  of  capital  among  its  French  admirers.  No 
Gurney  appeared,  ready  to  spend  his  thousands  in 
experimenting  ;  also,  though  the  law  left  road  loco- 
motion unrestricted,  the  railways  offered  a  determined 
opposition  to  a  possibly  dangerous  rival.  So  that, 
on  the  whole,  road  transport  by  steam  fared  badly 
till  after  the  terrible  Franco- Prussian  war,  when 
inventors  again  took  courage.  M.  Bolide,  of  Mans, 
built  in  1873  a  car,  ^M'Ob^issante,"  which  ran  from 
Mans  to  Paris  ;  and  became  the  subject  of  allusions 
in  popular  songs  and  plays,  while  its  name  was  held 
up  as  an  example  to  the  Paris  ladies.  Three  years 
later  he  constructed  a  steam  omnibus  to  carry  fifty 
persons,  and  in  1878  exhibited  a  car  that  journeyed 

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Horseless  Carriages 

at  the  rate  of  eighteen  miles  an  hour  from  Paris  to 
Vienna,  where  it  aroused  great  admiration. 

After  the  year  1880  French  engineers  divided 
their  attention  between  the  heavy  motor  omnibus 
and  light  vehicles  for  pleasure  parties.  In  1884 
MM.  Bouton  and  Trepardoux,  working  conjointly 
with  the  Comte  de  Dion,  produced  a  steam-driven 
tricycle,  and  in  1887  M.  Serpollet  followed  suit  with 
another,  fitted  with  the  peculiar  form  of  steam 
generator  that  bears  his  name.  Then  came  in  1890 
a  very  important  innovation,  which  has  made  auto- 
mobilism  what  it  now  is.  Gottlieb  Daimler,  a 
German  engineer,  introduced  the  petrol  gas-motor. 
Its  comparative  lightness  and  simplicity  at  once 
stamped  it  as  the  thing  for  which  makers  were  wait- 
ing. Petrol-driven  vehicles  were  soon  abroad  in 
considerable  numbers  and  varieties,  but  they  did  not 
attract  public  attention  to  any  great  extent  until,  in 
1894,  M.  Pierre  Giffard,  an  editor  of  the  Petit  Journal y 
organised  a  motor  race  from  Paris  to  Rouen.  The 
proprietors  of  the  paper  offered  handsome  prizes  to 
the  successful  competitors.  There  were  ten  starters, 
some  on  steam,  others  on  petrol  cars.  The  race 
showed  that,  so  far  as  stability  went,  Daimler's  engine 
was  the  equal  of  the  steam  cylinder.  The  next  year 
another  race  of  a  more  ambitious  character  was 
held,  the  course  being  from  Paris  to  Bordeaux  and 
back.  Subscriptions  for  prizes  flowed  in  freely. 
Serpollet,  de  Dion,  and  Bolide  prepared  steam  cars 
that  should  win  back  for  steam  its  lost  supremacy, 

233 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

while  the  petrol  faction  secretly  built  motors  of  a 
strength  to  relegate  steam  once  and  for  all  to  a  back 
place.  Electricity,  too,  made  a  bid  unsuccessfully 
for  the  prize  in  the  Jeantaud  car,  a  special  train 
being  engaged  in  advance  to  distribute  charged 
accumulators  over  the  route.  The  steamers  broke 
down  soon  after  the  start,  so  that  the  petrol  cars 
"  walked  over  "  and  won  a  most  decisive  victory. 

The  interest  roused  in  the  race  led  the  Comte  de 
Dion  to  found  the  Automobile  Club  of  France,  which 
drew  together  all  the  enthusiastic  admirers  of  the 
new  locomotion.  Automobilism  now  became  a 
sport,  a  craze.  The  French,  with  their  fine  straight 
roads,  and  a  not  too  deeply  ingrained  love  of  horse- 
flesh, gladly  welcomed  the  flying  car,  despite  its  noisy 
and  malodorous  properties. 

Orders  flowed  in  so  freely  that  the  motor  makers 
could  not  keep  pace  with  the  demand,  or  promise 
delivery  within  eighteen  months.  Rich  men  were 
therefore  obliged  to  pay  double  prices  if  they  could 
find  any  one  willing  to  sell — a  state  of  things  that 
remains  unto  this  day  with  certain  makes  of  French 
cars.  Poorer  folks  contented  themselves  with  De 
Dion  motor  tricycles,  which  showed  up  so  well  in 
the  1896  Paris-Marseilles  race  ;  or  with  the  neat 
little  three-wheeled  cars  of  M.  Bollee.  Motor  racing 
became  the  topic  of  the  hour.  Journals  were  started 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  recording  the  doings  of 
motorists  ;  and  few  newspapers  of  any  popularity 
omitted  a  special  column  of  motor  news.     Successive 

234 


Horseless  Carriages 


contests  on  the  highroads  at  increasing  speeds 
attracted  increased  interest.  The  black-goggled, 
fur-clad  chauffeur  who  carried  off  the  prizes  found 
himself  a  hero. 

In  short,  the  hold  which  automobilism  has  over 
our  neighbours  may  be  gauged  from  the  fact  that  in 
1 90 1  it  was  estimated  that  nearly  a  thousand  motor 
cars  assembled  to  see  the  sport  on  the  Longchamps 
Course  (the  scene  of  that  ultra-"  horsey  "  event,  the 
Grand  Prix),  and  the  real  interest  of  the  meet  did  not 
centre  round  horses  of  flesh  and  blood. 

The  French  have  not  a  monopoly  of  devotion  to 
automobilism.  The  speedy  motor  car  is  too  much 
in  accord  with  the  bustling  spirit  of  the  age  ;  its 
delights  too  easily  appreciated  to  be  confined  to  one 
country.  Allowing  France  the  first  place,  America, 
Germany,  and  Belgium  are  not  far  behind  in  their 
addiction  to  the  <*  sport,"  and  even  in  Britain,  par- 
tially freed  since  1896  from  the  red-flag  tyranny, 
thanks  to  the  efforts  of  Sir  David  Salomons,  there 
are  most  visible  signs  that  the  era  of  the  horse  is 
beginning  its  end. 

Types  of  Car. 

Automobiles  may  be  classified  according  to  the 
purpose  they  serve,  according  to  their  size  and 
weight,  or  according  to  their  motive  power.  We 
will  first  review  them  under  the  latter  head. 

A.  Petrol. — The  petrol   motor,  suitable   alike    for 

235 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

large  cars  of  40  to  60  horse-power  and  for  the 
small  bicj^cle  weighing  70  lbs.  or  so,  at  present 
undoubtedly  occupies  the  first  place  in  popular 
estimation  on  account  of  its  comparative  simplicity, 
which  more  than  compensates  certain  defects  that 
affect  persons  off  the  vehicle  more  than  those  on 
it — smell  and  noise. 

The  chief  feature  of  the  internal  explosion  motor 
is  that  at  one  operation  it  converts  fuel  directly  into 
energy,  by  exploding  it  inside  a  cylinder.  it  is 
herein  more  economical  than  steam,  which  loses 
power  while  passing  from  the  boiler  to  the  driving- 
gear. 

Petrol  cycles  and  small  cars  have  usually  only 
one  cylinder,  but  large  vehicles  carry  two,  three,  and 
sometimes  four  cylinders.  Four  and  more  avoid 
that  bugbear  of  rotary  motion,  "  dead  points,"  during 
which  the  momentum  of  the  machinery  alone  is 
doing  work ;  and  for  that  reason  the  engines  of 
racing  cars  are  often  quadrupled. 

For  the  sake  of  simplicity  we  will  describe  the 
working  of  a  single  cylinder,  leaving  the  reader  to 
imagine  it  acting  alone  or  in  concert  with  others  as 
he  pleases. 

In  the  first  place  the  fuel,  petrol,  is  a  very  inflam- 
mable distillation  of  petroleum :  so  ready  to  ignite  that 
it  must  be  most  rigorously  guarded  from  naked  lights ; 
so  quick  to  evaporate  that  the  receptacles  containing 
it,  if  not  quite  airtight,  will  soon  render  it  "  stale " 
and  unprofitable  for  motor  driving. 

236 


Horseless  Carriages 

The  engine,  to  mention  its  most  important  parts, 
consists  of  a  single-action  cylinder  (giving  a  thrust 
one  way  only) ;  a  heavy  flywheel  revolving  in  an 
airtight  circular  case,  and  connected  to  the  piston  by 
a  hinged  rod  which  converts  the  reciprocating  move- 
ment of  the  piston  into  a  rotary  movement  of  the 
crank-shaft  built  in  with  the  wheel ;  inlet  and  outlet 
valves  ;  a  carburettor  for  generating  petrol  gas,  and 
a  device  to  ignite  the  gas-and-air  mixture  in  the 
cylinder. 

The  action  of  the  engine  is  as  follows :  as  the 
piston  moves  outwards  in  its  first  stroke  it  sucks 
through  the  inlet  valve  a  quantity  of  mixed  air  and 
gas,  the  proportions  of  which  are  regulated  by  special 
taps.  The  stroke  ended,  the  piston  returns,  com- 
pressing the  mixture  and  rendering  it  more  com- 
bustible. Just  as  the  piston  commences  its  second 
outward  stroke  an  electric  spark  passed  through  the 
mixture  mechanically  ignites  it,  and  creates  an  ex- 
plosion, which  drives  the  piston  violently  forwards. 
The  second  return  forces  the  burnt  gas  through  the 
exhaust-valve,  which  is  lifted  by  cog-gear  once  in 
every  two  revolutions  of  the  crank,  into  the 
"silencer."  The  cycle  of  operations  is  then  re- 
peated. 

We  see  that  during  three-quarters  of  the  "  cycle  " 
— the  suction,  compression,  and  expulsion — the  work 
is  performed  entirely  by  the  flywheel.  It  follows 
that  a  single-cylinder  motor,  to  work  at  all,  must 
rotate  the  wheel  at  a  high  rate.     Once  stopped,  it 

237 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

can  be  restarted  only  by  the  action  of  the  handle 
or  pedals  ;  a  task  often  so  unpleasant  and  laborious 
that  the  driver  of  a  car,  when  he  comes  to  rest  for  a 
short  time  only,  disconnects  his  motor  from  the 
driving-gear  and  lets  it  throb  away  idly  beneath  him. 

The  means  of  igniting  the  gas  in  the  cylinders 
may  be  either  a  Bunsen  burner  or  an  electric  spark. 
Tube  ignition  is  generally  considered  inferior  to 
electrical  because  it  does  not  permit  "timing"  of 
the  explosion.  Large  cars  are  often  fitted  with  both 
systems,  so  as  to  have  one  in  reserve  should  the 
other  break  down. 

Electrical  ignition  is  most  commonly  produced  by 
the  aid  of  an  intensity  coil,  which  consists  of  an 
inner  core  of  coarse  insulated  wire,  called  the 
primary  coil ;  and  an  outer,  or  secondary  coil,  of 
very  fine  wire.  A  current  passes  at  intervals,  timed 
by  a  cam  on  the  exhaust-valve  gear  working  a 
make-and-break  contact  blade,  from  an  accumulator 
through  the  primary  coil,  exciting  by  induction  a 
current  of  much  greater  intensity  in  the  secondary. 
The  secondary  is  connected  to  a  "  sparking  plug," 
which  screws  into  the  end  of  the  cylinder,  and 
carries  two  platinum  points  about  ^  of  an  inch 
apart.  The  secondary  current  leaps  this  little  gap 
in  the  circuit,  and  the  spark,  being  intensely  hot, 
fires  the  compressed  gas.  Instead  of  accumulators 
a  small  dynamo,  driven  by  the  motor,  is  sometimes 
used  to  produce  the  primary  current. 

By  moving  a  small  lever,  known  as  the  "  advancing 

238 


Horseless  Carriages 

lever/'  the  driver  can  control  the  time  of  explosion 
relatively  to  the  compression  of  the  gas,  and  raise 
or  lower  the  speed  of  the  motor. 

The  strokes  of  the  petrol-driven  cylinder  are  very 
rapid,  varying  from  looo  to  3000  a  minute.  The 
heat  of  very  frequent  explosions  would  soon  make 
the  cylinder  too  hot  to  work  were  not  measures 
adopted  to  keep  it  cool.  Small  cylinders,  such  as 
are  carried  on  motor  cycles,  are  sufficiently  cooled 
by  a  number  of  radiating  ribs  cast  in  a  piece  with 
the  cylinder  itself ;  but  for  large  machines  a  water 
jacket  or  tank  surrounding  the  cylinder  is  a  necessity. 
Water  is  circulated  through  the  jacket  by  means  of 
a  small  centrifugal  pump  working  off  the  driving 
gear,  and  through  a  coil  of  pipes  fixed  in  the  front 
of  the  car  to  catch  the  draught  of  progression.  So 
long  as  the  jacket  and  tubes  are  full  of  water  the 
temperature  of  the  cylinder  cannot  rise  above  boiling 
point. 

Motion  is  transmitted  from  the  motor  to  the 
driving-wheels  by  intermediate  gear,  which  in  cycles 
may  be  only  a  leather  band  or  couple  of  cogs,  but 
in  cars  is  more  or  less  complicated.  Under  the 
body  of  the  car,  running  usually  across  it,  is  the 
countershaft,  fitted  at  each  end  with  a  small  cog 
which  drives  a  chain  passing  also  over  much  larger 
cogs  fixed  to  the  driving-wheels.  The  countershaft 
engages  with  the  cylinder  mechanism  by  a  "friction- 
clutch,"  a  couple  of  circular  faces  which  can  be 
pressed  against  one   another  by  a  lever.     To   start 

239 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention  ' 

his  car  the  driver  allows  the  motor  to  obtain  a 
considerable  momentum^  and  then,  using  the  fric- 
tion lever,  brings  more  and  more  stress  on  to  the 
countershaft  until  the  friction-clutch  overcomes  the 
inertia  of  the  car  and  produces  movement. 

Gearing  suitable  for  level  stretches  would  not  be 
sufficiently  powerful  for  hills :  the  motor  would  slow 
and  probably  stop  from  want  of  momentum.  A  car 
is  therefore  fitted  with  changing  gears,  which  give 
two  or  three  speeds,  the  lower  for  ascents,  the  higher 
for  the  level :  and  on  declines  the  friction-clutch  can 
be  released,  allowing  the  car  to  "  coast." 

B.  Steam  Cars. — Though  the  petrol  car  has  come 
to  the  front  of  late  years  it  still  has  a  powerful  rival 
in  the  steam  car.  Inventors  have  made  strenuous 
efforts  to  provide  steam-engines  light  enough  to  be 
suitable  for  small  pleasure  cars.  At  present  the 
Locomobile  (American)  and  Serpollet  (French) 
systems  are  increasing  their  popularity.  The  Loco- 
mobile, the  cost  of  which  (about  ;^i2o)  contrasts 
favourably  with  that  of  even  the  cheaper  petrol  cars, 
has  a  small  multitubular  boiler  wound  on  the  outside 
with  two  or  three  layers  of  piano  wire,  to  render  it 
safe  at  high  pressures.  As  the  boiler  is  placed  under 
the  seat  it  is  only  fit  and  proper  that  it  should  have 
a  large  margin  of  safety.  The  fuel,  petrol,  is  passed 
through  a  specially  designed  burner,  pierced  with 
hundreds  of  fine  holes  arranged  in  circles  round  air 
inlets.  The  feed-supply  to  the  burner  is  governed 
by  a  spring  valve,  which  cuts  off   the  petrol  auto- 

240 


Horseless  Carriages 


matically  as  soon  as  the  steam  in  the  boiler  reaches 
a  certain  pressure.  The  locomobile  runs  very 
evenly  and  smoothly,  and  with  very  little  noise,  a 
welcome  change  after  the  very  audible  explosion 
motor. 

The  Serpollet  system  is  a  peculiar  method  of 
generating  steam.  The  boiler  is  merely  a  long  coil 
of  tubing,  into  which  a  small  jet  of  water  is  squirted 
by  a  pump  at  every  stroke  of  the  cylinders.  The 
steam  is  generated  and  used  in  a  moment,  and  the 
speed  of  the  machine  is  regulated  by  the  amount  of 
water  thrown  by  the  pumps.  By  an  ingenious 
device  the  fuel  supply  is  controlled  in  combination 
with  the  water  supply,  so  that  there  may  not  be  any 
undue  waste  in  the  burner. 

C.  Electricity. — Of  electric  cars  there  are  many 
patterns,  but  at  present  they  are  not  commercially 
so  practical  as  the  other  two  types.  The  great 
drawbacks  to  electrically-driven  cars  are  the  weight 
of  the  accumulators  (which  often  scale  nearly  as 
much  as  all  the  rest  of  the  vehicle),  and  the  difficulty 
of  getting  them  recharged  when  exhausted.  We 
might  add  to  these  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
accumulators  become  worn  out,  and  the  consequent 
expense  of  renewal.  T.  A.  Edison  is  reported  at 
work  on  an  accumulator  which  will  surpass  all 
hitherto  constructed,  having  a  much  longer  life,  and 
weighing  very  much  less,  power  for  power.  The 
longest  continuous  run  ever  made  with  electricity, 
187  miles  at  Chicago,  compares  badly  with  the  feat 

241  Q 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

of  a  petrol  car  which  on  November  23,  1900, 
travelled  a  thousand  miles  on  the  Crystal  Palace  track 
in  48  hours  24  minutes,  without  a  single  stop. 
Successful  attempts  have  been  made  by  MM. 
Pieper  and  Jenatsky  to  combine  the  petrol  and 
electric  systems,  by  an  arrangement  which  instead  of 
wasting  power  in  the  cylinders  when  less  speed  is 
required,  throws  into  action  electric  dynamos  to 
store  up  energy,  convertible,  when  needed,  into 
motive  power  by  reversing  the  dynamo  into  a 
motor.  But  the  simple  electric  car  will  not  be  a 
universal  favourite  until  either  accumulators  are  so 
light  that  a  very  large  store  of  electricity  can  be 
carried  without  inconvenient  addition  of  weight,  or 
until  charging  stations  are  erected  all  over  the 
country  at  distances  of  fifty  miles  or  so  apart. 

Whether  steam  will  eventually  get  the  upper  hand 
of  the  petrol  engine  is  at  present  uncertain.  The 
steam  car  has  the  advantage  over  the  gas-engine  car 
in  ease  of  starting,  the  delicate  regulation  of  power, 
facility  of  reversing,  absence  of  vibration,  noise  and 
smell,  and  freedom  from  complicated  gears.  On  the 
other  hand  the  petrol  car  has  no  boiler  to  get  out  of 
order  or  burst,  no  troublesome  gauges  requiring 
constant  attention,  and  there  is  small  difficulty  about 
a  supply  of  fuel.  Petrol  sufficient  to  give  motive 
power  for  hundreds  of  miles  can  be  carried  if  need 
be  ;  and  as  long  as  there  is  petrol  on  board  the  car 
is  ready  for  work  at  a  moment's  notice.  Judging  by 
the  number  of  the  various  types  of  vehicles  actually 

242 


'k> 


S        !>< 


Horseless  Carriages 

at  work  we  should  say  that  while  steam  is  best  for 
heavy  traction,  the  gas-engine  is  most  often  employed 
on  pleasure  cars. 

D,  Liquid  Air  will  also  have  to  be  reckoned  with 
as  a  motive  power.  At  present  it  is  only  on  its 
probation  ;  but  the  writer  has  good  authority  for 
stating  that  before  these  words  appear  in  print  there 
will  be  on  the  roads  a  car  driven  by  liquid  air,  and 
able  to  turn  off  eighty  miles  in  the  hour. 

Manufacture, — As  the  English  were  the  pioneers  of 
the  steam  car,  so  are  the  Germans  and  French  the 
chief  manufacturers  of  the  petrol  car.  While  the 
hands  of  English  manufacturers  were  tied  by  short- 
sighted legislation,  continental  nations  were  inventing 
and  controlling  valuable  patents,  so  that  even  now 
our  manufacturers  are  greatly  handicapped.  Large 
numbers  of  petrol  cars  are  imported  annually  from 
France,  Germany,  and  Belgium,  Steam  cars  come 
chiefly  from  America  and  France.  The  former 
country  sent  us  nearly  2000  vehicles  in  1901.  There 
are  signs,  however,  that  English  engineers  mean  to 
make  a  determined  effort  to  recover  lost  ground  ; 
and  it  is  satisfactory  to  learn  that  in  heavy  steam 
vehicles,  such  as  are  turned  out  by  Thorneycroft 
and  Co.,  this  country  holds  the  lead.  We  will 
hope  that  in  a  few  years  we  shall  be  exporters  in 
turn. 

Having  glanced  at  the  history  and  nature  of  the 
various  types  of  car,  it  will  be  interesting  to  turn  to 
a  consideration  of  their  travelling  capacities.      As  we 

243 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

have  seen,  a  steam  omnibus  attained,  in  1830,  a  speed 
of  no  less  than  thirty-five  miles  an  hour  on  what  we 
should  call  bad  roads.  It  is  therefore  to  be  expected 
that  on  good  modern  roads  the  latest  types  of  car  would 
be  able  to  eclipse  the  records  of  seventy  years  ago. 
That  such  has  indeed  been  the  case  is  evident  when 
we  examine  the  performances  of  cars  in  races 
organised  as  tests  of  speed.  France,  with  its  straight, 
beautifully-kept,  military  roads,  is  the  country  par 
excellence  for  the  chauffeur.  One  has  only  to  glance  at 
the  map  to  see  how  the  main  highways  conform  to 
Euclid's  dictum  that  a  straight  line  is  the  shortest 
distance  between  any  two  points,  e,g,  between  Rouen 
and  Dieppe,  where  a  park  of  artillery,  well  posted, 
could  rake  the  road  either  way  for  miles. 

The  growth  of  speed  in  the  French  races  is  re- 
markable. In  1894  the  winning  car  ran  at  a  mean 
velocity  of  thirteen  miles  an  hour  ;  in  1895,  of  fifteen. 
The  year  1898  witnessed  a  great  advance  to  twenty- 
three  miles,  and  the  next  year  to  thirty  miles.  But  all 
these  speeds  paled  before  that  of  the  Paris  to  Bordeaux 
race  of  1 901,  in  which  the  winner,  M.  Fournier, 
traversed  the  distance  of  3 27 J  miles  at  a  rate  of  53! 
miles  per  hour  1  The  famous  Sud  express,  running 
between  the  same  cities,  and  considered  the  fastest 
long-distance  express  in  the  world,  was  beaten  by  a 
full  hour.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  same 
races  a  motor  bicycle,  a  Werner,  weighing  80  lbs. 
or  less,  successfully  accomplished  the  course  at  an 
average  rate  of  nearly  thirty   miles  an  hour.     The 

244 


Horseless  Carriages 

motor-car,  after  waiting  seventy  years,  had   had  its 
revenge   on  the  railways. 

This  was  not  the  only  occasion  on  which  an 
express  service  showed  up  badly  against  its  nimble 
rival  of  the  roads.  In  June,  1901,  the  French  and 
German  authorities  forgot  old  animosities  in  a 
common  enthusiasm  for  the  automobile,  and  orga- 
nised a  race  between  Paris  and  Berlin.  It  was  to  be 
a  big  affair,  in  which  the  cars  of  all  nations  should 
fight  for  the  speed  championship.  Every  possible 
precaution  was  taken  to  insure  the  safety  of  the 
competitors  and  the  spectators.  Flags  of  various 
colours  and  placards  marked  out  the  course,  which 
lay  through  Rheims,  Luxembourg,  Coblentz,  Frank- 
furt, Eisenach,  Leipsic,  and  Potsdam  to  the  German 
capital.  About  fifty  towns  and  large  villages  were 
*'  neutralised  " — that  is  to  say,  the  competitors  had  to 
consume  a  certain  time  in  traversing  them.  At  the 
entrance  to  each  neutralised  zone  a  ^'  control "  was 
established.  As  soon  as  a  competitor  arrived,  he 
must  slow  down,  and  a  card  on  which  was  written 
the  time  of  his  arrival  was  handed  to  a  "  pilot,"  who 
cycled  in  front  of  the  car  to  the  other  "  control "  at 
the  farther  end  of  the  zone,  from  which,  when  the 
proper  time  had  elapsed,  the  car  was  dismissed. 
Among  other  rules  were :  that  no  car  should  be 
pushed  or  pulled  during  the  race  by  any  one  else  than 
the  passengers  ;  that  at  the  end  of  the  day  only  a 
certain  time  should  be  allowed  for  cleaning  and 
repairs  ;  and  that  a  limited  number  of  persons,  vary- 

245 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

ing  with  the  size  of  the  car,  should  be  permitted  to 
handle  it  during  that  period. 

A  small  army  of  automobile  club  representatives, 
besides  thousands  of  police  and  soldiers,  were  dis- 
tributed along  the  course  to  restrain  the  crowds  of 
spectators.  It  was  absolutely  imperative  that  for 
vehicles  propelled  at  a  rate  of  from  50  to  60  miles 
an  hour  a  clear  path  should  be  kept. 

At  dawn,  on  July  27th,  109  racing  machines 
assembled  at  the  Fort  de  Champigny,  outside  Paris, 
in  readiness  to  start  for  Berlin.  Just  before  half- 
past  three,  the  first  competitor  received  the  signal  ; 
two  minutes  later  the  second  ;  and  then  at  short 
intervals  for  three  hours  the  remaining  107,  among 
whom  was  one  lady,  Mme.  de  Gast.  At  least  20,000 
persons  were  present,  even  at  that  early  hour,  to  give 
the  racers  a  hearty  farewell,  and  demonstrate  the 
interest  attaching  in  France  to  all  things  connected 
with  automobilism. 

Great  excitement  prevailed  in  Paris  during  the 
three  days  of  the  race.  Every  few  minutes  telegrams 
arrived  from  posts  on  the  route  telling  how  the 
competitors  fared.  The  news  showed  that  during 
the  first  stage  at  least  a  hard  fight  for  the  leading 
place  was  in  progress.  The  French  cracks,  Four- 
nier,  Charron,  De  Knyff,  Farman,  and  Girardot 
pressed  hard  on  Hourgieres,  No.  2  at  the  starting- 
point.  Fournier  soon  secured  the  lead,  and  those 
who  remembered  his  remarkable  driving  in  the  Paris- 
Bordeaux  race  at  once  selected  him  as  the  winner. 

246 


*s; 

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^==1 

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-o 

2 

Horseless  Carriages 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  283  miles  from  Paris  and  the  end 
of  the  first  stage,  was  reached  in  6  hours  28  minutes. 
Fournier  first,  De  Knyff  second  by  six  minutes. 

On  the  28th  the  racing  became  furious.  Several 
accidents  occurred.  Edge,  driving  the  only  English 
car,  wrecked  his  machine  on  a  culvert,  the  sharp 
curve  of  which  flung  the  car  into  the  air  and  broke 
its  springs.  Another  ruined  his  chances  by  running 
over  and  killing  a  boy.  But  Fournier,  Antony,  De 
Knyff,  and  Girardot  managed  to  avoid  mishaps  for 
that  day,  and  covered  the  ground  at  a  tremendous 
pace.  At  Dusseldorf  Girardot  won  the  lead  from 
Fournier,  to  lose  it  again  shortly.  Antony,  driving 
at  a  reckless  speed,  gained  ground  all  day,  and 
arrived  a  close  second  at  Hanover,  the  halting-place, 
after  a  run  averaging,  in  spite  of  bad  roads  and 
dangerous  corners,  no  less  than  54  miles  an  hour  ! 

The  chauffeur  in  such  a  race  must  indeed  be  a  man 
of  iron  nerves.  Through  the  great  black  goggles 
which  shelter  his  face  from  the  dust-laden  hurricane 
set  up  by  the  speed  he  travels  at  he  must  keep  a 
perpetual,  piercingly  keen  watch.  Though  travelling 
at  express  speed,  there  are  no  signals  to  help  him  ; 
he  must  be  his  own  signalman  as  well  as  driver. 
He  must  mark  every  loose  stone  on  the  road,  every 
inequality,  every  sudden  rise  or  depression  ;  he  must 
calculate  the  curves  at  the  corners  and  judge  whether 
his  mechanician,  hanging  out  on  the  inward  side, 
will  enable  a  car  to  round  a  turn  without  slackening 
speed.     His  calculations  and  decisions  must  be  made 

247 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

in  the  fraction  of  a  second,  for  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion might  be  disaster.  His  driving  must  be  furious 
and  not  reckless  ;  the  timid  chauffeur  will  never  win, 
the  careless  one  will  probably  lose.  His  head  must  be 
cool  although  the  car  leaps  beneath  him  like  a  wild 
thing,  and  the  wind  lashes  his  face.  At  least  one 
well-tried  driver  found  the  mere  mental  strain  too 
great  to  bear,  and  retired  from  the  contest  ;  and  we 
may  be  sure  that  few  of  the  competitors  slept  much 
during  the  nights  of  the  race. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  29th  Fournier  started  on 
the  third  stage,  which  witnessed  another  bout  of  fast 
travelling.  It  was  now  a  struggle  between  him  and 
Antony  for  first  place.  The  pace  rose  at  times  to 
eighty  miles  an  hour,  a  speed  at  which  our  fastest 
expresses  seldom  travel.  Such  a  speed  means  huge 
risks,  for  stopping,  even  with  the  powerful  brakes 
fitted  to  the  large  cars,  would  be  a  matter  of  a 
hundred  yards  or  more.  Not  far  from  Hanover 
Antony  met  with  an  accident — Girardot  now  held 
second  place  ;  and  Fournier  finished  an  easy  first. 
All  along  the  route  crowds  had  cheered  him,  and 
hurled  bouquets  into  the  car,  and  wished  him  good 
speed ;  but  in  Berlin  the  assembled  populace  went 
nearly  frantic  at  his  appearance.  Fournier  was 
overwhelmed  with  flowers,  laurel  wreaths,  and  other 
offerings  ;  dukes,  duchesses,  and  the  great  people 
of  the  land  pressed  for  presentations  ;  he  was  the 
hero  of  the  hour. 

Thus  ended  what  may  be  termed  a  peaceful  inva- 

248 


Horseless  Carriages 

sion  of  Germany  by  the  French.  Among  other 
things  it  had  shown  that  over  an  immense  stretch 
of  country,  over  roads  in  places  bad  as  only  German 
roads  can  be,  the  automobile  was  able  to  maintain 
an  average  speed  superior  to  that  of  the  express 
trains  running  between  Paris  and  Berlin  ;  also  that, 
in  spite  of  the  large  number  of  cars  employed  in  the 
race,  the  accidents  to  the  public  were  a  negligible 
quantity.  It  should  be  mentioned  that  the  actual 
time  occupied  by  Fournier  was  i6  hours  5  minutes  ; 
that  out  of  the  109  starters  47  reached  Berlin  ;  and 
that  Osmont  on  a  motor  cycle  finished  only  3  hours 
and  10  minutes  behind  the  winner. 

In  England  such  racing  would  be  undesirable  and 
impossible,  owing  to  the  crookedness  of  our  roads. 
It  would  certainly  not  be  permissible  so  long  as  the 
12  miles  an  hour  limit  is  observed.  At  the  present 
time  an  agitation  is  on  foot  against  this  restriction, 
which,  though  reasonable  enough  among  traffic  and 
in  towns,  appears  unjustifiable  in  open  country.  To 
help  to  convince  the  magisterial  mind  of  the  ease 
with  which  a  car  can  be  stopped,  and  therefore  of  its 
safety  even  at  comparatively  high  speeds,  trials  were 
held  on  January  2,  1902,  in  Welbeck  Park.  The 
results  showed  that  a  car  travelling  at  13  miles  an 
hour  could  be  stopped  dead  in  4  yards  ;  at  18  miles 
in  7  yards  ;  at  20  miles  in  13  yards  ;  or  in  less  than 
half  the  distance  required  to  pull  up  a  horse-vehicle 
driven  at  similar  speeds. 

Uses. — Ninety-five  per  cent  of  motors,  at  least  in 

249 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

England,  are  attached  to  pleasure  vehicles,  cycles, 
voiturettes,  and  large  cars.  On  account  of  the 
costliness  of  cars  motorists  are  far  less  numerous 
than  cyclists  ;  but  those  people  whose  means  enable 
them  to  indulge  in  automobilism  find  it  extremely 
fascinating.  Caricaturists  have  presented  to  us  in 
plenty  the  gloomier  incidents  of  motoring — the 
broken  chain,  the  burst  tyre,  the  "something  gone 
wrong."  It  requires  personal  experience  to  under- 
stand how  lightly  these  mishaps  weigh  against  the 
exhilaration  of  movement,  the  rapid  change  of  scene, 
the  sensation  of  control  over  power  which  can  whirl 
one  along  tirelessly  at  a  pace  altogether  beyond  the 
capacities  of  horseflesh.  If  proof  were  wanted  of 
the  motor  car's  popularity  it  will  be  seen  in  the 
unconventional  dress  of  the  chauffeur.  The  breeze 
set  up  by  his  rapid  rush  is  such  as  would  penetrate 
ordinary  clothing ;  he  dons  cumbrous  fur  cloaks. 
The  dust  is  all-pervading  at  times  ;  he  swathes 
himself  in  dust-proof  overalls,  and  mounts  large 
goggles  edged  with  velvet,  while  a  cap  of  semi- 
nautical  cut  tightly  drawn  down  over  neck  and  ears 
serves  to  protect  those  portions  of  his  anatomy. 
The  general  effect  is  peculiarly  unpicturesque  ;  but 
even  the  most  artistically-minded  driver  is  ready 
to  sacrifice  appearances  to  comfort  and  the  proper 
enjoyment  of  his  car. 

In  England  the  great  grievance  of  motorists  arises 
from  the  speed  limit  imposed  by  law.  To  restrict  a 
powerful  car  to  twelve   miles  an  hour  is  like  con- 

250 


Horseless  Carriages 

fining  a  thoroughbred  to  the  paces  of  a  broken-down 
cab  horse.  Careless  drivihg  is  unpardonable,  but  its 
occasional  existence  scarcely  justifies  the  intolerant 
attitude  of  the  law  towards  motorists  in  general.  It 
must;  however,  be  granted  in  justice  to  the  police  that 
the  chauffeuvy  from  constant  transgression  of  the  law, 
becomes  a  bad  judge  of  speed,  and  often  travels  at  a 
far  greater  velocity  than  he  is  willing  to  admit. 

The  convenience  of  the  motor  car  for  many  pur- 
poses is  immense,  especially  for  cross-country  jour- 
neys, which  may  be  made  from  door  to  door  without 
the  monotony  or  indirectness  of  railway  travel.  It 
bears  the  doctor  swiftly  on  his  rounds.  It  carries 
the  business  man  from  his  country  house  to  his 
office.  It  delivers  goods  for  the  merchant ;  parcels 
for  the  post  office. 

In  the  warfare  of  the  future,  too,  it  will  play  its 
part,  whether  to  drag  heavy  ordnance  and  stores,  or 
to  move  commanding  officers  from  point  to  point,  or 
perform  errands  of  mercy  among  the  wounded.  By 
the  courtesy  of  the  Locomobile  Company  we  are 
permitted  to  append  the  testimony  of  Captain  R.  S. 
Walker,  R.E.,  to  the  usefulness  of  a  car  during  the 
great  Boer  War. 

^<  Several  months  ago  I  noticed  a  locomobile  car 
at  Cape  Town,  and  being  struck  with  its  simplicity 
and  neatness,  bought  it  and  took  it  up  country  with 
me,  with  a  view  to  making  some  tests  with  it  over 
bad  roads,  &c.  Its  first  trip  was  over  a  rough 
course  round  Pretoria,  especially  chosen  to  find  out 

251 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

defects  before  taking  it  into  regular  use.  Naturally, 
as  the  machine  was  not  designed  for  this  class  of 
work;  there  were  several.  In  about  a  month  these 
had  all  been  found  out  and  remedied,  and  the  car 
was  in  constant  use,  taking  stores,  &c.,  round  the 
towns  and  forts.  It  also  performed  some  very 
useful  work  in  visiting  out-stations,  where  search- 
lights were  either  installed  or  wanted,  and  in  this 
way  visited  nearly  all  the  bigger  towns  in  the  Trans- 
vaal. It  was  possible  to  go  round  all  the  likely 
positions  for  a  searchlight  in  one  day  at  every 
station,  which  frequently  meant  considerably  over 
fifty  miles  of  most  indifferent  roads — more  than  a 
single  horse  could  have  been  expected  to  do — and 
the  car  generally  carried  two  persons  on  these  occa- 
sions. The  car  was  also  used  as  a  tender  to  a 
searchlight  plant,  on  a  gun-carriage  and  limber, 
being  utilised  to  fetch  gasolene,  carbons,  water,  &c. 
&c.,  and  also  to  run  the  dynamo  for  charging  the 
accumulators  used  for  sparking,  thus  saving  running 
the  gasolene  motor  for  this  purpose.  To  do  this  the 
trail  of  the  carriage,  on  which  was  the  dynamo,  was 
lowered  on  to  the  ground,  the  back  of  the  car  was 
pulled  up,  one  wheel  being  supported  on  the  dynamo 
pulley  and  the  other  clear  of  the  ground,  and  two 
bolts  were  passed  through  the  balance-gear  to  join 
it.  On  one  occasion  the  car  ran  a  30  cm.  search- 
light for  an  hour,  driving  a  dynamo  in  this  way. 
In  consequence  of  this  a  trailer  has  been  made  to 
carry   a    dynamo   and    projector    for    searchlighting 

2i;2 


Horseless  Carriages 

in  the  field,  but  so  far  this  has  not  been  so  used. 
The  trailer  hooks  into  an  eye,  passing  just  behind 
the  balance-gear.  A  Maxim,  Colt,  or  small  ammuni- 
tion cart,  &c.,  could  be  attached  to  this  same  eye. 

*'  Undoubtedly  the  best  piece  of  work  done  by  the 
car  so  far  was  its  trial  trip  with  the  trailer,  when  it 
blew  up  the  mines  at  Klein  Nek.  These  mines  were 
laid  some  eight  months  previously,  and  had  never 
been  looked  to  in  the  interval.  There  had  been 
several  bad  storms,  the  Boers  and  cattle  had  been 
frequently  through  the  Nek,  it  had  been  on  fire,  and 
finally  it  was  shelled  with  lyddite.  The  mines, 
eighteen  in  number,  were  found  to  be  intact  except 
two,  which  presumably  had  been  fired  off  by  the 
heat  of  the  veldt  fire.  All  the  insulation  was  burnt 
off  the  wires,  and  the  battery  was  useless.  It  had 
been  anticipated  that  a  dynamo  exploder  would  be 
inadequate  to  fire  these  mines,  so  a  250  volt  two  h.p. 
motor,  which  happened  to  be  in  Pretoria,  weighing 
about  three  or  four  hundredweight,  was  placed  on  the 
trailer  ;  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  insulated  cable,  some 
testing  gear,  the  kits  of  three  men  and  their  rations 
for  three  days,  with  a  case  of  gasolene  for  the  car,  were 
also  carried  on  the  car  and  trailer,  and  the  whole 
left  Pretoria  one  morning  and  trekked  to  Rietfontein. 
Two  of  us  were  mounted,  the  third  drove  the  car. 
At  Rietfontein  we  halted  for  the  night,  and  started 
next  morning  with  an  escort  through  Commando 
Nek,  round  the  north  of  the  Magaliesburg,  to  near 
Klein  Nek,  where  the  road  had  to  be  left,  and  the 

253 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

car  taken  across  country  through  bush  veldt.  At 
the  bottom  the  going  was  pretty  easy  ;  only  a  few 
bushes  had  to  be  charged  down,  and  the  grass,  &c., 
rather  wound  itself  around  the  wheels  and  chain. 
As  the  rise  became  steeper  the  stones  became  very 
large,  and  the  car  had  to  be  taken  along  very  gin- 
gerly to  prevent  breaking  the  wheels.  A  halt  was 
made  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  top  of  the 
Nek,  where  the  mines  were.  These  were  recon- 
noitered,  and  the  wire,  &c.,  was  picked  up  ;  that 
portion  which  was  useless  was  placed  on  top  of 
the  charges,  and  the  remainder  taken  to  the  car. 
The  dynamo  was  slid  off  the  trailer,  the  car  backed 
against  it  ;  one  wheel  was  raised  slightly  and  placed 
against  the  dynamo  pulley,  which  was  held  up  to  it 
by  a  man  using  his  rifle  as  a  lever  ;  the  other  wheel 
was  on  the  ground  with  a  stone  under  it.  The 
balance  gear  being  free,  the  dynamo  was  excited 
without  the  other  wheel  moving,  and  the  load  being 
on  for  a  very  short  time  (that  is,  from  the  time  of 
touching  lead  on  dynamo  terminal  to  firing  of  the 
mine)  no  harm  could  come  to  the  car.  When  all 
the  leads  had  been  joined  to  the  dynamo  the  car 
was  started,  and  after  a  short  time,  when  it  was 
judged  to  have  excited,  the  second  terminal  was 
touched,  a  bang  and  clouds  of  dust  resulted,  and  the 
Klein  Nek  Minefield  had  ceased  to  exist.  The  day 
was  extremely  hot,  and  the  work  had  not  been  light, 
so  the  tea,  made  with  water  drawn  direct  from  the 
boiler,  which  we  were  able  to  serve  round  to  the 

254 


Horseless  Carriages 

main  body  of  our  escort  was  much  appreciated,  and 
washed  down  the  surplus  rations  we  dispensed  with 
to  accommodate  the  battery  and  wire,  which  we 
could  not  leave  behind  for  the  enemy. 

**  On  the  return  journey  we  found  this  extra  load 
too  much  for  the  car,  and  had  great  difficulty  getting 
up  to  Commando  Nek,  frequently  having  to  stop  to 
get  up  steam,  so  these  materials  were  left  at  the 
first  blockhouse,  and  the  journey  home  continued 
in  comfort. 

^^A  second  night  at  Rietfontein  gave  us  a  rest 
after  our  labour,  and  the  third  afternoon  saw  us 
on  our  way  back  to  Pretoria.  As  luck  would 
have  it,  a  sandstorm  overtook  the  car,  which  had 
a  lively  time  of  it.  The  storm  began  by  blowing 
the  sole  occupant's  hat  off,  so,  the  two  mounted 
men  being  a  long  way  behind,  he  shut  off  steam 
and  chased  his  hat.  In  the  meantime  the  wind 
increased,  and  the  car  sailed  off  *  on  its  own,' 
and  was  only  just  caught  in  time  to  save  a  smash. 
Luckily  the  gale  was  in  the  right  direction,  for 
the  fire  was  blown  out,  and  it  was  impossible  to 
light  a  match  in  the  open.  The  car  sailed  into 
a  poort  on  the  outskirts  of  Pretoria,  got  a  tow 
from  a  friendly  cart  through  it,  and  then  steamed 
home  after  the  fire  had  been  relit. 

"The  load  carried  on  this  occasion  (without 
the  battery,  &c.)  must  have  been  at  least  five 
hundredweight  besides  the  driver,  which,  consider- 
ing the   car  is   designed  to   carry  two  on  ordinary 

255 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

roads,  and  that  these  roads  were  by  no  means 
ordinary,  was  no  mean  feat.  The  car,  as  ordin- 
arily equipped  for  trekking,  carries  the  following : 
Blankets,  waterproof  sheets,  &c.,  for  two  men ; 
four  planks  for  crossing  ditches,  bogs,  stones,  &c. ; 
all  necessary  tools  and  spare  parts,  a  day's  supply 
of  gasolene,  a  couple  of  telephones,  and  one  mile 
of  wire.  In  addition,  on  the  trailer,  if  used  for 
searchlighting :  One  30  cm.  projector,  one  auto- 
matic lamp  for  projector,  one  dynamo  (100  volts 
20  amperes),  two  short  lengths  of  wire,  two  pairs 
of  carbons,  tools,  &c.  This  trailer  would  nor- 
mally be  carried  with  the  baggage,  and  only 
picked  up  by  the  car  when  wanted  as  a  light ; 
that  is,  as  a  rule,  after  arriving  in  camp,  when  a 
good  many  other  things  could  be  left  behind." 

Perhaps  the  most  useful  work  in  store  for  the 
motor  is  to  help  relieve  the  congestion  of  our 
large  towns  and  to  restore  to  the  country  some 
of  its  lost  prosperity.  There  is  no  stronger  in- 
ducement to  make  people  live  in  the  country  than 
rapid  and  safe  means  of  locomotion,  whether  public 
or  private.  At  present  the  slow  and  congested 
suburban  train  services  on  some  sides  of  London 
consume  as  much  time  as  would  suffice  a  motor 
car  to  cover  twice  or  three  times  the  distance. 
We  must  welcome  any  form  of  travel  which  will 
tend  to  restore  the  balance  between  country  and 
town  by  enabling  the  worker  to  live  far  from  his 
work.     The  gain  to  the  health  of  the   nation   aris- 

256 


Horseless  Carriages 

ing   from    more    even     distribution    of    population 
would  be  inestimable. 

A  world's  tour  is  among  the  latest  projects  in 
automobilism.  On  April  29,  1902,  Dr.  Lehwess 
and  nine  friends  started  from  Hyde  Park  Corner 
for  a  nine  months'  tour  on  three  vehicles,  the 
largest  of  them  a  luxuriously  appointed  24  horse- 
power caravan,  built  to  accommodate  four  persons. 
Their  route  lies  through  France,  Germany,  Russia, 
Siberia,  China,  Japan,  and  the  United  States. 


257 


HIGH-SPEED   RAILWAYS 

A  CENTURY  ago  a  long  journey  was  considered 
an  exploit,  and  an  exploit  to  be  carried  through 
as  quickly  as  possible  on  account  of  the  dangers 
of  the  road  and  the  generally  uncomfortable  con- 
ditions of  travel.  To-day,  though  our  express 
speed  is  many  times  greater  than  that  of  the 
lumbering  coaches,  our  carriages  comparatively 
luxurious,  the  risk  practically  nil,  the  same  wish 
lurks  in  the  breast  of  ninety  -  nine  out  of  a 
hundred  railway  passengers — to  spend  the  shortest 
time  in  the  train  that  the  time-table  permits  of. 
Time  differences  that  to  our  grandfathers  would 
have  appeared  trifling  are  now  matters  of  suffi- 
cient importance  to  make  rival  railway  companies 
anxious  to  clip  a  few  minutes  off  a  loo-mile 
"run"  simply  because  their  passengers  appreciate 
a  few  minutes'  less  confinement  to  the  cars. 

During  the  last  fifty  years  the  highest  express 
speeds  have  not  materially  altered.  The  Great 
Western  Company  in  its  early  days  ran  trains  from 
Paddington  to  Slough,  i8  miles,  in  15J  minutes,  or 
at  an  average  pace  of  69J  miles  an  hour. 

On  turning  to  the  present  regular  express  services 

258 


High-Speed  Railways 

of  the  world  we  find  America  heading  the  list 
with  a  50-mile  run  between  Atlantic  City  and 
Camden,  covered  at  the  average  speed  of  68  miles 
an  hour  ;  Britain  second  with  a  33-mile  run  be- 
tween Forfar  and  Perth  at  59  miles;  and  France 
a  good  third  with  an  hourly  average  of  rather 
more  than  58  miles  between  Les  Aubrais  and 
S.  Pierre  des  Corps.  These  runs  are  longer  than 
that  on  the  Great  Western  Railway  referred  to 
above  (which  now  occupies  twenty-four  minutes), 
but  their  average  velocity  is  less.  What  is  the 
cause  of  this  decrease  of  speed  ?  Not  want  of 
power  in  modern  engines ;  at  times  our  trains 
attain  a  rate  of  80  miles  an  hour,  and  in  America 
a  mile  has  been  turned  off  in  the  astonishing  time 
of  thirty-two  seconds.  We  should  rather  seek  it 
in  the  need  for  economy  and  in  the  physical  limi- 
tations imposed  by  the  present  system  of  plate- 
laying  and  railroad  engineering.  An  average  speed 
of  ninety  miles  an  hour  would,  as  things  now 
stand,  be  too  wasteful  of  coal  and  too  injurious 
to  the  rolling-stock  to  yield  profit  to  the  pro- 
prietors of  a  line  ;  and,  except  in  certain  districts, 
would  prove  perilous  for  the  passengers.  Before 
our  services  can  be  much  improved  the  steam 
locomotive  must  be  supplanted  by  some  other 
application  of  motive  power,  and  the  metals  be 
laid  in  a  manner  which  will  make  special  pro- 
vision for  extreme  speed. 

259 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Since  rapid  transit  is  as  much  a  matter  of 
commercial  importance  as  of  mere  personal  con- 
venience it  must  not  be  supposed  that  an  average 
of  50  miles  an  hour  will  continue  to  meet  the 
needs  of  travellers.  Already  practical  experiments 
have  been  made  with  two  systems  that  promise 
us  an  ordinary  speed  of  100  miles  an  hour  and 
an  express  speed  considerably  higher. 

One  of  these,  the  monorail  or  single-rail  system, 
will  be  employed  on  a  railroad  projected  between 
Manchester  and  Liverpool.  At  present  passengers 
between  these  two  cities — the  first  to  be  connected 
by  a  railroad  of  any  kind — enjoy  the  choice  of 
three  rival  services  covering  34 J  miles  in  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour.  An  eminent  engineer,  Mr. 
F.  B.  Behr,  now  wishes  to  add  a  fourth  of  un- 
precedented swiftness.  Parliamentary  powers  have 
been  secured  for  a  line  starting  from  Deansgate, 
Manchester,  and  terminating  behind  the  pro- 
Cathedral  in  Liverpool,  on  which  single  cars  will 
run  every  ten  minutes  at  a  velocity  of  no  miles 
an  hour. 

A  monorail  track  presents  a  rather  curious  appear- 
ance. The  ordinary  parallel  metals  are  replaced  by 
a  single  rail  carried  on  the  summit  of  A-shaped 
trestles,  the  legs  of  which  are  firmly  bolted  to 
sleepers.  A  monorail  car  is  divided  lengthwise  by  a 
gap  that  allows  it  to  hang  half  on  either  side  of  the 
trestles  and  clear  them  as   it   moves.     The    double 

260 


High-Speed  Railways 

flanged  wheels  to  carry  and  drive  the  car  are  placed 
at  the  apex  of  the  gap.  As  the  ^'  centre  of  gravity  " 
is  below  the  rail  the  car  cannot  turn  over^  even  when 
travelling  round  a  sharp  curve. 

The  first  railway  built  on  this  system  was  con- 
structed by  M.  Charles  Lartigue,  a  French  engineer, 
in  Algeria,  a  district  where  an  ordinary  two-rail  track 
is  often  blocked  by  severe  sand-storms.  He  derived 
the  idea  of  balancing  trucks  over  an  elevated  rail 
from  caravans  of  camels  laden  on  each  flank  with 
large  bags.  The  camel,  or  rather  its  legs,  was  trans- 
formed by  the  engineer's  eye  into  iron  trestles,  while 
its  burden  became  a  car.  A  line  built  as  a  result  of 
this  observation,  and  supplied  with  mules  as  tractive 
power,  has  for  many  years  played  an  important  part 
in  the  esparto-grass  trade  of  Algeria. 

In  1886  Mr.  Behr  decided  that  by  applying  steam 
to  M.  Lartigue's  system  he  could  make  it  successful 
as  a  means  of  transporting  passengers  and  goods. 
He  accordingly  set  up  in  Tothill  Fields,  Westminster, 
on  the  site  of  the  new  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral,  a 
miniature  railway  which  during  nine  months  of  use 
showed  that  the  monorail  would  be  practical  for 
heavy  traffic,  safe,  and  more  cheaply  maintained  than 
the  ordinary  double-metal  railway.  The  train  travelled 
easily  round  very  sharp  curves  and  climbed  unusually 
steep  gradients  without  slipping. 

Mr.  Behr  was  encouraged  to  construct  a  monorail 
in  Kerry,  between  Listowel,  a  country  town  famous 

261 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

for  its  butter,  and  Ballybunion,  a  seaside  resort  of  in- 
creasing popularity.  The  line,  opened  on  the  28th 
of  February  1888,  has  worked  most  satisfactorily 
ever  since,  without  injury  to  a  single  employe  or 
passenger. 

On  each  side  of  the  trestles,  two  feet  below  the 
apex,  run  two  guide-rails,  against  which  press  small 
wheels  attached  to  the  carriages  to  prevent  undue 
oscillation  and  ^^ tipping"  round  curves.  At  the 
three  stations  there  are,  instead  of  points,  turn-tables 
or  switches  on  to  which  the  train  runs  for  trans- 
ference to  sidings. 

Road  traffic  crosses  the  rail  on  drawbridges,  which 
are  very  easily  worked,  and  which  automatically  set 
signals  against  the  train.  The  bridges  are  in  two 
portions  and  act  on  the  principle  of  the  Tower 
Bridge,  each  half  falling  from  a  perpendicular 
position  towards  the  centre,  where  the  ends  rest 
on  the  rail,  specially  strengthened  at  that  spot  to 
carry  the  extra  weight.  The  locomotive  is  a  twin 
affair  ;  has  two  boilers,  two  funnels,  two  fireboxes  ; 
can  draw  240  tons  on  the  level  at  fifteen  miles  an 
hour,  and  when  running  light  travels  a  mile  in  two 
minutes.  The  carriages,  18  feet  long  and  carrying 
twelve  passengers  on  each  side,  are  divided  longi- 
tudinally into  two  parts.  Trucks  too  are  used, 
mainly  for  the  transport  of  sand — of  which  each 
carries  three  tons — from  Ballybunion  to  Listowel : 
and  in  the  centre  of  each  train  is  a  queer-looking 

262 


High-Speed  Railways 

vehicle  serving  as  a  bridge  for  any  one  who  may 
wish  to  cross  from  one  side  of  the  rail  to  the 
other. 

Several  lines  on  the  pattern  of  the  Ballybunion- 
Listowel  have  been  erected  in  different  countries. 
Mr.  Behr  was  not  satisfied  with  his  first  success, 
however,  and  determined  to  develop  the  monorail 
in  the  direction  of  fast  travelling,  which  he  thought 
would  be  most  easily  attained  on  a  trestle-track.  In 
1893  he  startled  engineers  by  proposing  a  Lightning- 
Express  service,  to  transport  passengers  at  a  velocity 
of  120  miles  an  hour.  But  the  project  seemed  too 
ideal  to  tempt  money  from  the  pockets  of  financiers, 
and  Mr.  Behr  soon  saw  that  if  a  high-speed  railway 
after  his  own  heart  were  constructed  it  must  be  at 
his  own  expense.  He  had  sufficient  faith  in  his 
scheme  to  spend  ^^40,000  on  an  experimental  track 
at  the  Brussels  Exhibition  of  1897.  The  exhibition 
was  in  two  parts,  connected  by  an  electric  railway, 
the  one  at  the  capital,  the  other  at  Tervueren,  seven 
miles  away.     Mr.  Behr  built  his  line  at  Tervueren, 

The  greatest  difficulty  he  encountered  in  its  con- 
struction arose  from  the  opposition  of  landowners, 
mostly  small  peasant  proprietors,  who  were  anxious 
to  make  advantageous  terms  before  they  would  hear 
of  the  rail  passing  through  their  lands.  Until  he  had 
concluded  two  hundred  separate  contracts,  by  most  of 
which  the  peasants  benefited,  his  platelayers  could  not 
get  to  work.    Apart  from  this  opposition  the  conditions 

263 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

were  not  favourable.  He  was  obliged  to  bridge  no 
less  than  ten  roads  ;  and  the  contour  of  the  country 
necessitated  steep  gradients,  sharp  curves,  long 
cuttings  and  embankments,  the  last  of  which, 
owing  to  a  wet  summer,  could  not  be  trusted  to 
stand  quite  firm.  The  track  was  doubled  for  three 
miles,  passing  at  each  end  round  a  curve  of  1 600  feet 
radius. 

The  rail  ran  about  four  feet  above  the  track  on 
trestles  bolted  down  to  steel  sleepers  resting  on 
ordinary  ballast.  The  carriage — Mr.  Behr  used  but 
one  on  this  line — weighed  68  tons,  was  59  feet  long 
and  1 1  feet  wide,  and  could  accommodate  one  hun- 
dred persons.  It  was  handsomely  fitted  up,  and  had 
specially-shaped  seats  which  neutralised  the  effect  of 
rounding  curves,  and  ended  fore  and  aft  in  a  point, 
to  overcome  the  wind-resistance  in  front  and  the  air- 
suction  behind.  Sixteen  pairs  of  wheels  on  the  under 
side  of  the  carriage  engaged  with  the  two  pairs  of 
guide  rails  flanking  the  trestles,  and  eight  large 
double-flanged  wheels,  4J  feet  in  diameter,  carried 
the  weight  of  the  vehicle.  The  inner  four  of  these 
wheels  were  driven  by  as  many  powerful  electric 
motors  contained,  along  with  the  guiding  mechanism, 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  car.  The  motors  picked  up 
current  from  the  centre  rail  and  from  another  steel 
rail  laid  along  the  sleepers  on  porcelain  insulators. 

The  top  speed  attained  was  about  ninety  miles  an 
hour.     On  the  close  of  the  Exhibition  special  experi- 

264 


High-Speed  Railways 

merits  were  made  at  the  request  of  the  Belgian, 
French,  and  Russian  Governments,  with  results  that 
proved  that  the  Behr  system  deserved  a  trial  on  a 
much  larger  scale. 

The  engineer  accordingly  approached  the  British 
Government  with  a  Bill  for  the  construction  of  a 
high-speed  line  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester. 
A  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  rejected  the 
Bill  on  representations  of  the  Salford  Corporation. 
The  Committee  had  to  admit,  nevertheless,  that  the 
evidence  called  was  mainly  in  favour  of  the  system  ; 
and,  the  plans  of  the  rail  having  been  altered  to 
meet  certain  objections.  Parliamentary  consent  was 
obtained  to  commence  operations  when  the  necessary 
capital  had  been  subscribed.  In  a  few  years  the 
great  seaport  and  the  great  cotton  town  will  probably 
be  within  a  few  minutes'  run  of  each  other. 

A  question  that  naturally  arises  in  the  mind  of  the 
reader  is  this  :  could  the  cars,  when  travelling  at  1 1  o 
miles  an  hour,  be  arrested  quickly  enough  to  avoid 
an  accident  if  anything  got  on  the  line  ? 

The  Westinghouse  air-brake  has  a  retarding  force 
of  three  miles  a  second.  It  would  therefore  arrest  a 
train  travelling  at  no  miles  per  hour  in  37  seconds, 
or  995  yards.  Mr.  Behr  proposes  to  reinforce  the 
Westinghouse  with  an  electric  brake,  composed  of 
magnets  18  inches  long,  exerting  on  the  guide  rails 
by  means  of  current  generated  by  the  reversed  motors 
an  attractive  force  of  200  lbs.  per  square  inch.      One 

265 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

great  advantage  of  this  brake  is  that  its  efficiency  is 
greatest  when  the  speed  of  the  train  is  highest  and 
when  it  is  most  needed.  The  united  brakes  are 
expected  to  stop  the  car  in  half  the  distance  of  the 
Westinghouse  alone  ;  but  they  would  not  both  be 
applied  except  in  emergencies.  Under  ordinary  con- 
ditions the  slowing  of  a  car  would  take  place  only  at 
the  termini,  where  the  line  ascends  gradients  into  the 
stations.  There  would,  however,  be  small  chance  of 
collisions,  the  railway  being  securely  fenced  off 
throughout  its  entire  length,  and  free  from  level 
crossings,  drawbridges  and  points.  Furthermore, 
each  train  would  be  its  own  signalman.  Suppose  the 
total  34 J  miles  divided  into  "  block 'Mengths  of  7 
miles.  On  leaving  a  terminus  the  train  sets  a  danger 
signal  behind  it  ;  at  7  miles  it  sets  another,  and  at 
14  miles  releases  the  first  signal.  So  that  the 
driver  of  a  car  would  have  at  least  7  miles  to  slow 
down  in  after  seeing  the  signals  against  him.  In  case 
of  fog  he  would  consult  a  miniature  signal  in  his 
cabin  working  electrically  in  unison  with  the  large 
semaphores. 

The  Manchester-Liverpool  rail  will  be  reserved 
for  express  traffic  only.  Mr.  Behr  does  not  believe 
in  mixing  speeds,  and  considers  it  one  of  the  advan- 
tages of  his  system  that  slow  cars  and  waggons  of 
the  ordinary  two-rail  type  cannot  be  run  on  the 
monorail ;  because  if  they  could  managers  might 
be  tempted  to  place  them  there. 

266 


High-Speed  Railways 

A  train  will  consist  of  a  single  vehicle  for  forty, 
fifty,  or  seventy  passengers,  as  the  occasion  requires. 
It  is  calculated  that  an  average  of  twelve  passengers 
at  one  penny  per  mile  would  pay  all  the  expenses  of 
running  a  car. 

Mr.  Behr  maintains  that  monorails  can  be  con- 
structed far  more  cheaply  than  the  two-rail,  because 
they^  permit  sharper  curves,  and  thereby  save  a  lot 
of  cutting  and  embankment ;  and  also  because  the 
monorail  itself,  when  trestles  and  rail  are  specially 
strengthened,  can  serve  as  its  own  bridge  across 
roads,  valleys  and  rivers. 

Though  the  single-rail  has  come  to  the  front  of 
late,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  two-rail  track 
is  for  ever  doomed  to  moderate  speeds  only.  German 
engineers  have  built  an  electric  two-rail  military  line 
between  Berlin  and  Zossen,  seventeen  miles  long, 
over  which  cars  have  been  run  at  a  hundred  miles 
an  hour.  The  line  has  very  gradual  curves,  and 
in-  this  respect  is  inferior  to  the  more  sinuous 
monorail.  Its  chief  virtue  is  the  method  of  apply- 
ing motive  power — a  method  common  to  both 
systems. 

The  steam  locomotive  creates  its  own  motive  force, 
and  as  long  as  it  has  fuel  and  water  can  act  inde- 
pendently. The  electric  locomotive,  on  the  other 
hand,  receives  its  power  through  metallic  conductors 
from  some  central  station.  Should  the  current  fail 
all  the  traffic  on  the  line  is  suspended.     So  far  the 

267 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

advantage  rests  with  the  steamer.  But  as  regards 
economy  the  superiority  of  the  current  is  obvious. 
In  the  electric  systems  under  consideration — the 
monorail  and  Berlin-Zossen — there  is  less  weight  per 
passenger  to  be  shifted;  since  a  comparatively  light 
motor  supersedes  the  heavy  locomotive.  The  cars 
running  singly,  bridges  and  track  are  subjected  to 
less  strain,  and  cost  less  to  keep  in  repair.  But  the 
greatest  saving  of  all  is  made  in  fuel,  A  steam  loco- 
motive uses  coal  wastefully,  sending  a  lot  of  latent 
power  up  the  funnel  in  the  shape  of  half-expanded 
steam.  Want  of  space  prevents  the  designer  from 
fitting  to  a  moving  engine  the  more  economical 
machinery  to  be  found  in  the  central  power-station 
of  an  electric  railway,  which  may  be  so  situated — by 
the  water-side  or  near  a  pit's  mouth — that  fuel  can 
be  brought  to  it  at  a  trifling  cost.  Not  only  is  the 
expense  of  distributing  coal  over  the  system  avoided, 
but  the  coal  itself,  by  the  help  of  triple  and  quadruple 
expansion  engines  should  yield  two  or  three  times  as 
much  energy  per  ton  as  is  developed  in  a  locomotive 
furnace. 

Many  schemes  are  afoot  for  the  construction  of 
high-speed  railways.  The  South-Eastern  plans  a 
monorail  between  Cannon  Street  and  Charing  Cross 
to  avoid  the  delay  that  at  present  occurs  in  passing 
from  one  station  to  the  other.  We  hear  also  of  a 
projected  railway  from  London  to  Brighton,  which 
will    reduce    the    journey   to    half-an-hour ;    and  of 

268 


High-Speed  Railways 

another  to  connect  Dover  and  London.  It  has  even 
been  suggested  to  establish  monorails  on  existing 
tracks  for  fast  passenger  traffic,  the  expresses  passing 
overhead,  the  slow  and  goods  trains  plodding  along 
the  double  metals  below. 

But  the  most  ambitious  programme  of  all  comes 
from  the  land  of  the  Czar.  M.  Hippolyte  Romanoff, 
a  Russian  engineer,  proposes  to  unite  St.  Petersburg 
and  Moscow  by  a  line  that  shall  cover  the  interven- 
ing 600  miles  in  three  hours — an  improvement  of 
ten  hours  on  the  present  time-tables.  He  will  use 
T-shaped  supports  to  carry  two  rails,  one  on  each 
arm,  from  which  the  cars  are  to  hang.  The  line 
being  thus  double  will  permit  the  cars — some  four 
hundred  in  number — to  run  to  and  fro  continuously, 
urged  on  their  way  by  current  picked  up  from  over- 
head wires.  Each  car  is  to  have  twelve  wheels,  four 
drivers  arranged  vertically  and  eight  horizontally,  to 
prevent  derailment  by  gripping  the  rail  on  either 
side.  The  stoppage  or  breakdown  of  any  car  will 
automatically  stop  those  following  by  cutting  off  the 
current. 

In  the  early  days  of  railway  history  lines  were  pro- 
jected in  all  directions,  regardless  of  the  fact  whether 
they  would  be  of  any  use  or  not.  Many  of  these 
lines  began,  where  they  ended,  on  paper.  And  now 
that  the  high-speed  question  has  cropped  up,  we 
must  not  believe  that  every  projected  electric  railway 
will  be  built,  though  of  the  ultimate  prevalence  of  far 

269 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

higher  speeds  than  we  now  enjoy  there  can  be  no 
doubt. 

The  following  is  a  time-table  drawn  up  on  the 
two-mile-per-minute  basis. 

A  man  leaving  London  at  lo  a.m.  would  reach — 


Brighton  . 

.     .     50 

miles 

away, 

at  10.25  A.M. 

Portsmouth 

.     .     60 

)} 

10.30  A.M. 

Birmingham 

.     .   113 

>> 

10.57  A.M. 

Leeds  .     . 

.   188 

)) 

11.34  A.M. 

Liverpool 

.  202 

)i 

1 1. 41  A.M. 

Holyhead 

.  262 

)} 

12. II   P.M. 

Edinburgh    . 

.  400 

a 

1.20  P.M. 

Aberdeen 

.  540 

ft 

2.30  P.M. 

What  would  become  of  the  records  established  in  the 
**  Race  to  the  North  "  and  by  American  ^'  fliers  "  ? 

And  what  about  continental  travel  ? 

Assuming  that  the  Channel  Tunnel  is  built — per- 
haps a  rather  large  assumption — Paris  will  be  at  our 
very  doors.  A  commercial  traveller  will  step  into 
the  lightning  express  at  London,  sleep  for  two  hours 
and  twenty-four  minutes  and  wake,  refreshed,  to  find 
the  blue-smocked  Paris  porters  bawling  in  his  ear. 
Or  even  if  we  prefer  to  keep  the  *^  little  silver  streak  " 
free  from  subterranean  burrows,  he  will  be  able  to 
catch  the  swift  turbine  steamers — of  which  more 
anon — at  Dover,  slip  across  to  Calais  in  half-an-hour, 
and  be  at  the  French  capital  within  four  hours  of 
quitting  London.  And  if  M.  Romanoff's  standard 
be  reached,  the  latest  thing  in  hats  despatched  from 

270 


High-Speed  Railways 

Paris  at  noon  may  be  worn  in  Regent  Street  before 
two  o'clock. 

Such  speeds  would  indeed  produce  a  revolution  in 
travelling  comparable  to  the  substitution  of  the  steam 
locomotive  for  the  stage  coach.  As  has  been  pithily 
said,  the  effect  of  steam  was  to  make  the  bulk  of 
population  travel,  whereas  they  had  never  travelled 
before,  but  the  effect  of  the  electric  railway  will  be 
to  make  those  who  travel  travel  much  further  and 
much  oftener. 


2fl 


SEA    EXPRESSES. 

In  the  year  1836  the  Strius,  a  paddle-wheel  vessel, 
crossed  the  Atlantic  from  Cork  Harbour  to  New 
York  in  nineteen  days.  Contrast  with  the  first 
steam-passage  from  the  Old  World  to  the  New  a 
return  journey  of  the  Deutschlandf  a  North  German 
liner,  which  in  1900  averaged  over  twenty-seven 
miles  an  hour  between  Sandy  Hook  and  Plymouth, 
accomplishing  the  whole  distance  in  the  record  time 
of  five  days  seven  hours  thirty-eight  minutes. 

This  growth  of  speed  is  even  more  remarkable 
than  might  appear  from  the  mere  comparison  of 
figures.  A  body  moving  through  water  is  so  re- 
tarded by  the  inertia  and  friction  of  the  fluid  that  to 
quicken  its  pace  a  force  quite  out  of  proportion  to 
the  increase  of  velocity  must  be  exerted.  The  pro- 
portion cannot  be  reduced  to  an  exact  formula,  but 
under  certain  conditions  the  speed  and  the  power 
required  advance  in  the  ratio  of  their  cubes  ;  that  is, 
to  double  a  given  rate  of  progress  eight  times  the 
driving-power  is  needed  ;  to  treble  it,  twenty-seven 
times. 

The  mechanism  of  our  fast  modern  vessels  is  in 
every  way  as    superior    to   that    which    moved    the 

272 


Sea  Expresses 

SiriuSy  as  the  beautifully-adjusted  safety  cycle  is  to 
the  clumsy  "  boneshaker  '*  which  passed  for  a  wonder 
among  our  grandfathers.  A  great  improvement  has 
also  taken  place  in  the  art  of  building  ships  on  lines 
calculated  to  offer  least  resistance  to  the  water,  and 
at  the  same  time  afford  a  good  carrying  capacity. 
The  big  liner,  with  its  knife-edged  bow  and  tapering 
hull,  is  by  its  shape  alone  eloquent  of  the  high  speed 
which  has  earned  it  the  title  of  Ocean  Greyhound  ; 
and  as  for  the  fastest  craft  of  all,  torpedo-destroyers, 
their  designers  seem  to  have  kept  in  mind  Euclid's 
definition  of  a  Hne- length  without  breadth.  But 
whatever  its  shape,  boat  or  ship  may  not  shake  itself 
free  of  Nature's  laws.  Her  restraining  hand  lies 
heavy  upon  it.  A  single  man  paddles  his  weight- 
carrying  dinghy  along  easily  at  four  miles  an  hour  ; 
eight  men  in  the  pink  of  condition,  after  arduous 
training,  cannot  urge  their  light,  slender,  racing  shell 
more  than  twelve  miles  in  the  same  time. 

To  understand  how  mail  boats  and  ^^  destroyers  " 
attain,  despite  the  enormous  resistance  of  water, 
velocities  that  would  shame  many  a  train-service, 
we  have  only  to  visit  the  stokeholds  and  engine- 
rooms  of  our  sea  expresses  and  note  the  many 
devices  of  marine  engineers  by  which  fuel  is  con- 
verted into   speed. 

We  enter  the  stokehold  through  air-locks,  closing 
one  door  before  we  can  open  the  other,  and  find 
ourselves  among  sweating,   grimy  men,   stripped  to 

273  S 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  waist.  As  though  Hfe  itself  depended  upon  it 
they  shovel  coal  into  the  rapacious  maws  of  furnaces 
glowing  with  a  dazzling  glare  under  the  "forced- 
draught  "  sent  down  into  the  hold  by  the  fans 
whirling  overhead.  The  ignited  furnace  gases  on 
their  way  to  the  outer  air  surrender  a  portion  of 
their  heat  to  the  water  from  which  they  are  separated 
by  a  skin  of  steel.  Two  kinds  of  marine  boiler  are 
used — the  fire-tube  and  the  water-tube.  In  fire-tube 
boilers  the  fire  passes  inside  the  tubes  and  the  water 
outside  ;  in  water-tube  boilers  the  reverse  is  the  case, 
the  crown  and  sides  of  the  furnace  being  composed 
of  sheaves  of  small  parallel  pipes  through  which 
water  circulates.  The  latter  type,  as  generating 
steam  very  quickly,  and  being  able  to  bear  very  high 
pressures,  is  most  often  found  in  war  vessels  of  all 
kinds.  The  quality  sought  in  boiler  construction  is 
that  the  heating  surface  should  be  very  large  in  pro- 
portion to  the  quantity  of  water  to  be  heated.  Special 
coal,  anthracite  or  Welsh,  is  used  in  the  navy  on 
account  of  its  great  heating  power  and  freedom  from 
smoke  ;  experiments  have  also  been  made  with  crude 
petroleum,  or  liquid  fuel,  which  can  be  more  quickly 
put  on  board  than  coal,  requires  the  services  of  fewer 
stokers,  and  may  be  stored  in  odd  corners  unavailable 
as  coal  bunkers. 

From  the  boiler  the  steam  passes  to  the  engine- 
room,  whither  we  will  follow  it.  We  are  now  in  a 
bewildering  maze  of  clanking,   whirling  machinery  ; 

274 


Sea  Expresses 


our  noses  offended  by  the  reek  of  oil,  our  ears 
deafened  by  the  uproar  of  the  moving  metal,  our  eyes 
wearied  by  the  efforts  to  follow  the  motions  of  the 
cranks  and  rods. 

On  either  side  of  us  is  ranged  a  series  of  three  or 
perhaps  even  four  cylinders;  of  increasing  size.  The 
smallest;  known  as  the  high-pressure  cylinder,  receives 
steam  direct  from  the  boiler.  It  takes  in  through  a 
slide-valve  a  supply  for  a  stroke  ;  its  piston  is  driven 
from  end  to  end  ;  the  piston-rod  flies  through  the 
cylinder-end  and  transmits  a  rotary  motion  to  a 
crank  by  means  of  a  connecting-rod.  The  half- 
expanded  steam  is  then  ejected,  not  into  the  air  as 
would  happen  on  a  locomotive,  but  into  the  next 
cylinder,  which  has  a  larger  piston  to  compensate  the 
reduction  of  pressure.  Number  two  served,  the 
steam  does  duty  a  third  time  in  number  three, 
and  perhaps  yet  a  fourth  time  before  it  reaches  the 
condensers,  where  its  sudden  conversion  into  water 
by  cold  produces  a  vacuum  suction  in  the  last 
cylinder  of  the  series.  The  secret  of  a  marine 
engine's  strength  and  economy  lies  then  in  its  treat- 
ment of  the  steam,  which,  like  clothes  in  a  numerous 
family,  is  not  thought  to  have  served  its  purpose  till 
it  has  been  used  over  and  over  again. 

Reciprocating  {i.e.  cylinder)  engines,  though 
brought  to  a  high  pitch  of  efficiency,  have  grave 
disadvantages,  the  greatest  among  which  is  the  an- 
noyance  caused    by   their    intense    vibration    to    all 

27  5 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

persons  in  the  vessel.  A  revolving  body  that  is 
not  exactly  balanced  runs  unequally,  and  transmits 
a  tremor  to  anything  with  which  it  may  be  in 
contact.  Turn  a  cycle  upside  down  and  revolve 
the  driving-wheel  rapidly  by  means  of  the  pedal. 
The  whole  machine  soon  begins  to  tremble  violently, 
and  dance  up  and  down  on  the  saddle  springs, 
because  one  part  of  the  wheel  is  heavier  than  the 
rest,  the  mere  weight  of  the  air-valve  being  sufficient 
to  disturb  the  balance.  Now  consider  what  happens 
in  the  engine-room  of  high-powered  vessels.  On 
destroyers  the  screws  make  400  revolutions  a  minute. 
That  is  to  say,  all  the  momentum  of  the  pistons, 
cranks,  rods,  and  valves  (weighing  tons),  has  to  be 
arrested  thirteen  or  fourteen  times  every  second. 
However  well  the  moving  parts  may  be  balanced, 
the  vibration  is  felt  from  stem  to  stern  of  the  vessel. 
Even  on  luxuriously-appointed  liners,  with  engines 
running  at  a  far  slower  speed,  the  throbbing  of  the 
screw  {ix,  engines)  is  only  too  noticeable  and  pro- 
ductive of  discomfort. 

We  shall  be  told,  perhaps,  that  vibration  is  a 
necessary  consequence  of  speed.  This  is  true  enough 
of  all  vehicles,  such  as  railway  trains,  motor-cars, 
cycles,  which  are  shaken  by  the  irregularities  of  the 
unyielding  surface  over  which  they  run,  but  does 
not  apply  universally  to  ships  and  boats.  A  sail  or 
oar-propelled  craft  may  be  entirely  free  from  vibration, 
whatever  its  speed,  as  the  motions  arising  from  water 

276 


Sea  Expresses 

are  usually  slow  and  deliberate.  In  fact,  water  in 
its  calmer  moods  is  an  ideal  medium  to  travel  on, 
and  the  trouble  begins  only  with  the  introduction 
of  steam  as  motive  force. 

But  even  steam  may  be  robbed  of  its  power  to 
annoy  us.  The  steam-turbine  has  arrived.  It  works 
a  screw  propeller  as  smoothly  as  a  dynamo,  and  at 
a  speed  that  no  cylinder  engine  could  maintain  for 
a  minute  without  shaking  itself  to  pieces. 

The  steam-turbine  is  most  closely  connected  with 
the  name  of  the  Hon.  Charles  Parsons,  son  of  Lord 
Rosse,  the  famous  astronomer.  He  was  the  first 
to  show,  in  his  speedy  Httle  Turbiniay  the  possibilities 
of  the  turbine  when  applied  to  steam  navigation. 
The  results  have  been  such  as  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  whole  shipbuilding  world. 

The  principle  of  the  turbine  is  seen  in  the  ordinary 
windmill.  To  an  axle  revolving  in  a  stationary 
bearing  are  attached  vanes  which  oppose  a  current 
of  air,  water,  or  steam,  at  an  angle  to  its  course, 
and  by  it  are  moved  sideways  through  a  circular  path. 
Mr.  Parsons'  turbine  has  of  course  been  specially 
adapted  for  the  action  of  steam.  It  consists  of  a 
cylindrical,  air-tight  chest,  inside  which  rotates  a 
drum,  fitted  round  its  circumference  with  rows  of 
curved  vanes.  The  chest  itself  has  fixed  immovably 
to  its  inner  side  a  corresponding  number  of  vane 
rings,  alternating  with  those  on  the  drum,  and  so 
arranged  as  to  deflect  the  steam  on  to  the  latter  at 

277 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  most  efficient  angle.  The  diameter  of  the  chest 
and  drum  is  not  constant,  but  increases  towards  the 
exhaust  end,  in  order  to  give  the  expanding  and 
weakening  steam  a  larger  leverage  as  it  proceeds. 

The  steam  entering  the  chest  from  the  boiler  at 
a  pressure  of  some  hundreds  of  pounds  to  the  square 
inch  strikes  the  first  set  of  vanes  on  the  drum,  passes 
them  and  meets  the  first  set  of  chest-vanes,  is  turned 
from  its  course  on  to  the  second  set  of  drum-vanes, 
and  so  on  to  the  other  end  of  the  chest.  Its  power 
arises  entirely  from  its  expansive  velocity,  which, 
rather  than  turn  a  number  of  sharp  corners,  will, 
if  possible,  compel  the  obstruction  to  move  out  of 
its  way.  If  that  obstruction  be  from  any  cause 
difficult  to  stir,  the  steam  must  pass  round  it  until 
its  pressure  overcomes  the  inertia.  Consequently 
the  turbine  differs  from  the  cylinder  engine  in  this 
respect,  that  steam  can  pass  through  and  be  wasted 
without  doing  any  work  at  all,  whereas,  unless 
the  gear  of  a  cylinder  moves,  and  power  is  exerted, 
all  steam  ways  are  closed,  and  there  is  no  waste. 
In  practice,  therefore,  it  is  found  that  a  turbine  is 
most  effective  when  running  at  high  speed. 

The  first  steam-turbines  were  used  to  drive 
dynamos.  In  1884  Mr.  Parsons  made  a  turbine 
in  which  fifteen  wheels  of  increasing  size  moved 
at  the  astonishing  rate  of  300  revolutions  per  second, 
and  developed  10  horse-power.  In  1888  followed 
a  120  horse-power  turbine,  and  in  1892  one  of  2000 

278 


'3  .^ 


-rt-  Z 


1^0 


'^^S 
H^"-^ 


'^S 


t/5  o 

-2i  o 
00  o 


i'-s'^o 


^ 


t-H 


o 

ON 


^  ^^ 

^  $:;>  C-" 

^  ^    ~ 

^  1^  i: 

^2  ^ 


?3 


Sea  Expresses 


horse-power,  provided  with  a  condenser  to  produce 
suction.  So  successful  were  these  steam  fans  for 
electrical  work,  pumping  water  and  ventilating 
mines,  that  Mr.  Parsons  determined  to  test  them  as 
a  means  of  propelling  ships.  A  small  vessel  loo 
feet  long  and  9  feet  in  beam  was  fitted  with  three 
turbines — high,  medium,  and  low  pressure,  of  a  total 
2000  horse-power — a  proportion  of  motive  force  to 
tonnage  hitherto  not  approached.  Yet  when  tried 
over  the  test  course  the  Turbinia^  as  the  boat  was 
fitly  named,  ran  in  a  most  disappointing  fashion. 
The  screws  revolved  too  fast j  producing  what  is  known 
as  cavitation^  or  the  scooping  out  of  the  water  by 
the  screws,  so  that  they  moved  in  a  partial  vacuum 
and  utilised  only  a  fraction  of  their  force,  from  lack 
of  anything  to  ^^  bite  "  on.  This  defect  was  remedied 
by  employing  screws  of  coarser  pitch  and  larger 
blade  area,  three  of  which  were  attached  to  each 
of  the  three  propeller  shafts.  On  a  second  trial  the 
Turbinia  attained  32!  knots  over  the  ^^  measured 
mile,"  and  later  the  astonishing  speed  of  forty  miles 
an  hour,  or  double  that  of  the  fast  Channel  packets. 
At  the  Spithead  Review  in  1897  one  of  the  most 
interesting  sights  was  the  little  nimble  Turbinia  rushing 
up  and  down  the  rows  of  majestic  warships  at  the 
rate  of  an  express  train. 

After  this  success  Mr.  Parsons  erected  works  at 
Wallsend-on-Tyne  for  the  special  manufacture  of 
turbines.     The  Admiralty  soon  placed  with  him  an 

279 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

order  for  a  torpedo-destroyer— the  Viper — of  350 
tons  ;  which  on  its  trial  trip  exceeded  forty-one 
miles  an  hour  at  an  estimated  horse-power  (11,000) 
equalling  that  of  our  largest  battleships.  A  sister 
vessel,  the  Cobra,  of  like  size,  proved  as  speedy. 
Misfortune,  however,  overtook  both  destroyers.  The 
Viper  was  wrecked  August  3,  1901,  on  the  coast  of 
Alderney  during  the  autumn  naval  manoeuvres,  and 
the  Cobra  foundered  in  a  severe  storm  on  Septem- 
ber 12  of  the  same  year  in  the  North  Sea.  This  double 
disaster  casts  no  reflections  on  the  turbine  engines  ; 
being  attributed  to  fog  in  the  one  case  and  to  struc- 
tural weakness  in  the  other.  The  Admiralty  has 
since  ordered  another  turbine  destroyer,  and  before 
many  years  are  past  we  shall  probably  see  all  the 
great  naval  powers  providing  themselves  with  like 
craft  to  act  as  the  "  eyes  of  the  fleet,"  and  travel 
at  even  higher  speeds  than  those  of  the  Viper  and 
Cobra, 

The  turbine  has  been  applied  to  mercantile  as  well 
as  warlike  purposes.  There  is  at  the  present  time 
a  turbine-propelled  steamer,  the  King  Edwardy  run- 
ning in  the  Clyde  on  the  Fairlie-Campbelltown 
route.  This  vessel,  250  feet  long,  30  broad,  18 
deep,  contains  three  turbines.  In  each  the  steam 
is  expanded  fivefold,  so  that  by  the  time  it  passes 
into  the  condensers  it  occupies  125  times  its  boiler 
volume.  (On  the  Viper  the  steam  entered  the  tur- 
bine through  an  inlet  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and 

280 


Sea  Expresses 


left  them  by  an  outlet  four  feet  square.)  In  cylinder 
engines  thirty-fold  expansion  is  considered  a  high 
ratio  ;  hence  the  turbine  extracts  a  great  deal  more 
power  in  proportion  from  its  steam.  As  a  turbine 
cannot  be  reversed,  special  turbines  are  attached 
to  the  two  outside  of  the  three  propeller  shafts  to 
drive  the  vessel  astern.  The  steamer  attained  20J 
knots  over  the  "  Skelmorlie  mile  "  in  fair  and  calm 
weather,  with  3500  horse-power  produced  at  the 
turbines.  The  King  Edward  is  thus  the  fastest  by 
two  or  three  knots  of  all  the  Clyde  steamers,  as  she 
is  the  most  comfortable.  We  are  assured  that  as 
far  as  the  turbines  are  concerned  it  is  impossible 
by  placing  the  hand  upon  the  steam-chest  to  tell 
whether  the  drum  inside  is  revolving  or  not  I 

Every  marine  engine  is  judged  by  its  economy 
in  the  consumption  of  coal.  Except  in  times  of 
national  peril  extra  speed  produced  by  an  extrava- 
gant use  of  fuel  would  be  severely  avoided  by  all 
owners  and  captains  of  ships.  At  low  speeds  the 
turbine  develops  less  power  than  cylinders  from  the 
same  amount  of  steam,  but  when  working  at  high 
velocity  it  gives  at  least  equal  results.  A  careful 
record  kept  by  the  managers  of  the  Caledonian 
Steamship  Company  compares  the  King  Edward 
with  the  Duchess  of  Hamiltony  a  paddle  steamer  of 
equal  tonnage  used  on  the  same  route  and  built  by 
the  same  firm.  The  record  shows  that  though  the 
paddle-boat    ran    a    fraction   of    a   mile    further  for 

281 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

every  ton  of  coal  burnt  in  the  furnaces,  the  King 
Edward  averaged  two  knots  an  hour  faster,  a  supe- 
riority of  speed  quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  slight 
excess  of  fuel.  Were  the  Duchess  driven  at  i8J 
knots  instead  of  i6J  her  coal  bill  would  far  exceed 
that  of  the  turbine. 

As  an  outcome  of  these  first  trials  the  Caledonian 
Company  are  launching  a  second  turbine  vessel. 
Three  high-speed  turbine  yachts  are  also  on  the 
stocks;  one  of  700  tons,  another  of  1500  tons,  and 
a  third  of  170  tons.  The  last,  the  property  of 
Colonel  M'Calmont,  is  designed  for  a  speed  of 
twenty-four  knots. 

Mr.  Parsons  claims  for  his  system  the  following 
advantages  :  Greatly  increased  speed  ;  increased 
carrying  power  of  coal  ;  economy  in  coal  con- 
sumption ;  increased  facilities  for  navigating  shal- 
low waters  ;  greater  stability  of  vessels  ;  reduced 
weight  of  machinery  (the  turbines  of  the  King 
Edward  weigh  but  one-half  of  cylinders  required  to 
give  the  same  power)  ;  cheapness  of  attending  the 
machinery  ;  absence  of  vibration,  lessening  wear  and 
tear  of  the  ship's  hull  and  assisting  the  accurate 
training  of  guns  ;  lowered  centre  of  gravity  in  the 
vessel,  and  consequent  greater  safety  during  times 
of  war. 

The  inventor  has  suggested  a  cruiser  of  2800 
tons,  engined  up  to  80,000  horse-power,  to  yield 
a   speed   of   forty-four  knots  (about   fifty  miles)  an 

282 


Sea  Expresses 


hour.  Figures  such  as  these  suggest  that  we  may 
be  on  the  eve  of  a  revolution  of  ocean  travel  com- 
parable to  that  made  by  the  substitution  of  steam  for 
wind  power.  Whether  the  steam-turbine  will  make 
for  increased  speed  all  round,  or  for  greater  economy, 
remains  to  be  seen  ;  but  we  may  be  assured  of  a 
higher  degree  of  comfort.  We  can  easily  believe 
that  improvements  will  follow  in  this  as  in  other 
mechanical  contrivances,  and  that  the  turbine's  effi- 
ciency has  not  yet  reached  a  maximum  ;  and  even 
if  our  ocean  expresses,  naval  and  mercantile,  do  not 
attain  the  one-mile-a-minute  standard,  which  is  still 
regarded  as  creditable  to  the  fastest  methods  of  land 
locomotion,  we  look  forward  to  a  time  in  the  near 
future  when  much  higher  speeds  will  prevail,  and 
the  tedium  of  long  voyages  be  greatly  shortened. 
Already  there  is  talk  of  a  service  which  shall  reduce 
the  trans-Atlantic  journey  to  three-and-a-half  days. 
The  means  are  at  hand  to  make  it  a  fact. 

Note, — In  the  recently-launched  turbine  destroyer  Velox 
a  novel  feature  is  the  introduction  of  ordinary  reciprocating 
engines  fitted  in  conjunction  with  the  steam  turbines.  These 
engines  are  of  triple-compound  type,  and  are  coupled  direct 
to  the  main  turbines.  They  take  steam  from  the  boilers 
direct  and  exhaust  into  the  high-pressure  turbine.  These 
reciprocating  engines  are  for  use  at  cruising  speeds.  When 
higher  power  is  needed  the  steam  will  be  admitted  to  the 
turbines  diiect  from  the  boilers,  and  the  cylinders  be  thrown 
out  of  gear. 


283 


MECHANICAL   FLIGHJ. 

Few,  if  any,  problems  have  so  strongly  influenced 
the  imagination  and  exercised  the  ingenuity  of 
mankind  as  that  of  aerial  navigation.  There  is 
something  in  our  nature  that  rebels  against  being 
condemned  to  the  condition  of  "featherless  bipeds" 
when  birds,  bats,  and  even  minute  insects  have 
the  whole  realm  of  air  and  the  wide  heavens 
open  to  them.  Who  has  not,  like  Solomon, 
pondered  upon  "  the  way  of  a  bird  in  the  air " 
with  feelings  of  envy  and  regret  that  he  is 
chained  to  earth  by  his  gross  body  ;  contrasting 
our  laboured  movements  from  point  to  point  of 
the  earth's  surface  with  the  easy  gliding  of  the 
feathered  traveller  ?  The  unrealised  wish  has  found 
expression  in  legends  of  Daedalus,  Pegasus,  in  the 
<^  flying  carpet "  of  the  fairy  tale,  and  in  the  pages 
of  Jules  Verne,  in  which  last  the  adventurous 
Robur  on  his  ^^  Clipper  of  the  Clouds "  anticipates 
the  future  in  a  most  startling  fashion. 

Aeromobilism — to  use  its  most  modern  title — 
is  regarded  by  the  crowd  as  the  mechanical 
counterpart  of  the  Philosopher's  Stone  or  the 
Elixir  of  Life  ;  a  highly  desirable   but   unattainable 

284 


Mechanical  Flight 


thing.  At  times  this  incredulity  is  transformed 
by  highly-coloured  press  reports  into  an  equally 
unreasonable  readiness  to  believe  that  the  conquest 
of  the  air  is  completed,  followed  by  a  feeling  of 
irritation  that  facts  are  not  as  they  were  repre- 
sented in  print. 

The  proper  attitude  is  of  course  half-way  between 
these  extremes.  Reflection  will  show  us  that  money, 
time,  and  life  itself  would  not  have  been  freely  and 
ungrudgingly  given  or  risked  by  many  men — hard- 
headed,  practical  men  among  them — in  pursuit  of 
a  Will-o'-the-Wisp,  especially  in  a  century  when 
scientific  calculation  tends  always  to  calm  down 
any  too  imaginative  scheme.  The  existing  state 
of  the  aerial  problem  may  be  compared  to  that 
of  a  railway  truck  which  an  insufficient  number 
of  men  are  trying  to  move.  Ten  men  may  make 
no  impression  on  it,  though  they  are  putting  out 
all  their  strength.  Yet  the  arrival  of  an  eleventh 
may  enable  them  to  overcome  the  truck's  inertia 
and  move  it  at  an  increasing  pace. 

Every  new  discovery  of  the  scientific  applica- 
tion of  power  brings  us  nearer  to  the  day  when 
the  truck  will  move.  We  have  metals  of  wonder- 
ful strength  in  proportion  to  their  weight  ;  pigmy 
motors  containing  the  force  of  giants  ;  a  huge 
fund  of  mechanical  experience  to  draw  upon ;  in 
fact,  to  paraphrase  the  Jingo  song,  "We've  got 
the    things,    weVe    got    the    men,    we've    got    the 

285 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

money  too " —  but  we  haven't  as  yet  got  the 
machine  that  can  mock  the  bird  like  the  flying 
express  mocks  the  strength  and  speed  of  horses. 

The  reason  of  this  is  not  far  to  seek.  The 
difficulties  attending  the  creation  of  a  successful 
flying-machine  are  immense,  some  unique,  not 
being  found  in  aquatic  and  terrestrial  locomotion. 

In  the  first  place,  the  airship,  flying-machine, 
aerostat,  or  whatever  we  please  to  call  it,  must 
not  merely  move,  but  also  lift  itself.  Neither  a 
ship  nor  a  locomotive  is  called  upon  to  do  this. 
Its  ability  to  lift  itself  must  depend  upon  either 
the  employment  of  large  balloons  or  upon  sheer 
power.  In  the  first  case  the  balloon  will,  by 
reason  of  its  size,  be  unmanageable  in  a  high 
wind  ;  in  the  second  case,  a  breakdown  in  the 
machinery  would  probably  prove  fatal. 

Even  supposing  that  our  aerostat  can  lift  itself 
successfully,  we  encounter  the  difficulties  connected 
with  steering  in  a  medium  traversed  by  ever-shifting 
currents  of  air,  which  demands  of  the  helmsman 
a  caution  and  capacity  seldom  required  on  land 
or  water.  Add  to  these  the  difficulties  of  leaving 
the  ground  and  alighting  safely  upon  it  ;  and, 
what  is  more  serious  than  all,  the  fact  that  though 
success  can  be  attained  only  by  experiment,  ex- 
periment is  in  this  case  extremely  expensive  and 
risky,  any  failure  often  resulting  in  total  ruin  of 
the   machine,   and   sometimes   in   loss   of  life.     The 

286 


Mechanical  Flight 


list  of  those  who  have  perished  in  the  search  for 
the  power  of  flight  is  a  very  long  one. 

Yet  in  spite  of  these  obstacles  determined  attempts 
have  been  and  are  being  made  to  conquer  the  air. 
Men  in  a  position  to  judge  are  confident  that  the 
day  of  conquest  is  not  very  far  distant,  and  that  the 
next  generation  may  be  as  familiar  with  aerostats  as 
we  with  motor-cars.  Speculation  as  to  the  future 
is,  however,  here  less  profitable  than  a  consideration 
of  what  has  been  already  done  in  the  direction  of 
collecting  forces  for  the  final  victory. 

To  begin  at  the  beginning,  we  see  that  experi- 
menters must  be  divided  into  two  great  classes : 
those  who  pin  their  faith  to  airships  lighter  than 
air,  e.g,  Santos  Dumont,  Zeppelin,  Roze  ;  and  those 
who  have  small  respect  for  balloons,  and  see  the 
ideal  air-craft  in  a  machine  lifted  entirely  by  means 
of  power  and  surfaces  pressing  the  air  after  the 
manner  of  a  kite.  Sir  Hiram  Maxim  and  Pro- 
fessor S.  P.  Langley,  Mr.  Lawrence  Hargrave,  and 
Mr.  Sydney  Hollands  are  eminent  members  of 
the  latter  cult. 

As  soon  as  we  get  on  the  topic  of  steerable 
balloons  the  name  of  Mr.  Santos  Dumont  looms 
large.  But  before  dealing  with  his  exploits  we  may 
notice  the  airship  of  Count  Zeppelin,  an  ingenious 
and  costly  structure  that  was  tested  over  Lake 
Constance  in   1900. 

The  balloon   was   built  in   a   large  wooden  shed, 

287 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

450  by  78  by  66  feet,  that  floated  on  the  lake  on 
ninety  pontoons.     The  shed  alone  cost  over  ^10,000. 

The  balloon  itself  was  nearly  400  feet  long,  with 
a  cylindrical  diameter  of  39  feet,  except  at  its 
ends,  which  were  conical,  to  offer  as  little  resistance 
as  possible  to  the  air.  Externally  it  afforded  the 
appearance  of  a  single-compartment  bag,  but  in 
reality  it  was  divided  into  seventeen  parts,  each 
gas-tight,  so  that  an  accident  to  one  part  of  the 
fabric  should  not  imperil  the  whole. 

A  framework  of  aluminium  rods  and  rings  gave 
the  bag  a  partial  rigidity. 

Its  capacity  was  12,000  cubic  yards  of  hydrogen 
gas,  which,  as  our  readers  doubtless  know,  is  much 
lighter  though  more  expensive  than  ordinary  coal- 
gas  ;  each  inflation  costing  several  hundreds  of 
pounds. 

Under  the  balloon  hung  two  cars  of  aluminium, 
the  motors  and  the  screws  ;  and  also  a  great  sliding 
weight  of  600  lbs.  for  altering  the  ^^  tip "  of  the 
airship  ;  and  rudders  to  steer  its  course. 

On  June  30  a  great  number  of  scientific  men 
and  experts  assembled  to  witness  the  behaviour  of 
a  balloon  which  had  cost  ^20,000.  For  two  days 
wind  prevented  a  start,  but  on  July  2,  at  7.30  p.m., 
the  balloon  emerged  from  its  shed,  and  at  eight  o'clock 
commenced  its  first  journey,  with  and  against  a  light 
easterly  wind  for  a  distance  of  three  and  a  half 
miles.     A  mishap  to  the  steering-gear  occurred  early 

288 


The  airship  of  M.  Santos  Dumont  rounding  the 
Eijfel  Tower  dnring  its  successful  run  for  the 
Henri  Dcntsch  Prize. 

\To  face  p.  28S. 


Mechanical  Flight 


in  the  trip,  and  prevented  the  airship  appearing  to 
advantage,  but  a  landing  was  effected  easily  and 
safely.  In  the  following  October  the  Count  made 
a  second  attempt,  returning  against  a  wind  blowing 
at  three  yards  a  second,  or  rather  more  than  six 
miles  an  hour. 

Owing  to  lack  of  funds  the  fate  of  the  ^'  Great 
Eastern "  has  overtaken  the  Zeppelin  airship — to 
be  broken  up,  and  the  parts  sold. 

The  aged  Count  had  demonstrated  that  a  petroleum 
motor  could  be  used  in  the  neighbourhood  of  gas 
without  danger.  It  was,  however,  reserved  for  a 
younger  man  to  give  a  more  decided  proof  of  the 
steerableness  of  a  balloon. 

In  1900  M.  Henri  Deutsch,  a  member  of  the 
French  Aero  Club,  founded  a  prize  of  ^£4000,  to 
win  which  a  competitor  must  start  from  the  Aero 
Club  Park,  near  the  Seine  in  Paris,  sail  to  and  round 
the  Eiffel  Tower,  and  be  back  at  the  starting-point 
within  a  time-limit  of  half-an-hour. 

M.  Santos  Dumont,  a  wealthy  and  plucky  young 
Brazilian,  had,  previously  to  this  offer,  made  several 
successful  journeys  in  motor  balloons  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Eiffel  Tower.  He  therefore  deter- 
mined to  make  a  bid  for  the  prize  with  a  specially 
constructed  balloon  ^'  Santos  Dumont  V."  The  third 
unsuccessful  attempt  ended  in  disaster  to  the  air- 
ship, which  fell  on  to  the  houses,  but  fortunately 
without  injuring  its  occupant. 

289  T 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Another  balloon — "  Santos  Dumont  VI." — was 
then  built.  On  Saturday,  October  19th,  M.  Dumont 
reached  the  Tower  in  nine  minutes  and  recrossed 
the  starting  line  in  20J  more  minutes,  thus  comply- 
ing with  the  conditions  of  the  prize  with  half-a- 
minute  to  spare.  A  dispute,  however,  arose  as 
to  whether  the  prize  had  been  actually  won,  some 
of  the  committee  contending  that  the  balloon  should 
have  come  to  earth  within  the  half-hour,  instead 
of  merely  passing  overhead ;  but  finally  the  well- 
merited  prize  was  awarded  to  the  determined  young 
aeronaut. 

The  successful  airship  was  of  moderate  propor- 
tions as  compared  with  that  of  Count  Zeppelin. 
The  cigar-shaped  bag  was  112  feet  long  and  20 
feet  in  diameter,  holding  715  cubic  yards  of  gas. 
M.  Dumont  showed  originality  in  furnishing  it 
with  a  smaller  balloon  inside,  which  could  be 
pumped  full  of  air  so  as  to  counteract  any  leakage 
in  the  external  bag  and  keep  it  taut.  The  motor, 
on  which  everything  depended,  was  a  four-cylinder 
petrol-driven  engine,  furnished  with  "  water-jackets  *' 
to  prevent  over-heating.  The  motor  turned  a  large 
screw — made  of  silk  and  stretched  over  light  frames 
— 200  times  a  minute,  giving  a  driving  force  of 
175  lbs.  Behind,  a  rudder  directed  the  airship, 
and  in  front  hung  down  a  long  rope  suspended  by 
one  end  that  could  be  drawn  towards  the  centre 
of  the   frame   to   alter  the  trim   of  the   ship.     The 

290 


Mechanical  Flight 


aeronaut  stood  in  a  large  wicker  basket  flanked  on 
either  side  by  bags  of  sand  ballast.  The  fact  that 
the  motor,  once  stopped,  could  only  be  restarted 
by  coming  to  earth  again  added  an  element  of  great 
uncertainty  to  all  his  trips  ;  and  on  one  occasion 
the  mis-firing  of  one  of  the  cylinders  almost  brought 
about  a  collision  with  the  Eiffel  Tower. 

From  Paris  M.  Dumont  went  to  Monaco  at  the 
invitation  of  the  prince  of  that  principality,  and 
cruised  about  over  the  bay  in  his  balloon.  His  fresh 
scheme  was  to  cross  to  Corsica,  but  it  was  brought 
to  an  abrupt  conclusion  by  a  leakage  of  gas,  which 
precipitated  balloon  and  balloonist  into  the  sea. 
Dumont  was  rescued,  and  at  once  set  about  new 
projects,  including  a  visit  to  the  Crystal  Palace, 
where  he  would  have  made  a  series  of  ascents  this 
summer  (1902)  but  for  damage  done  to  the  silk  of 
the  gas-bag  by  its  immersion  in  salt  water  and  the 
other  vicissitudes  it  had  passed  through.  Dumont's 
most  important  achievement  has  been,  like  that  of 
Count  Zeppelin,  the  application  of  the  gasolene 
motor  to  aeromobilism.  In  proportion  to  its  size  this 
form  of  motor  develops  a  large  amount  of  energy, 
and  its  mechanism  is  comparatively  simple — a  matter 
of  great  moment  to  the  aeronaut.  He  has  also 
shown  that  under  favourable  conditions  a  balloon  may 
be  steered  against  a  head-wind,  though  not  with  the 
certainty  that  is  desirable  before  air  travel  can  be 
pronounced  an  even  moderately  simple  undertaking. 

291 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

The  fact  that  many  inventorS;  such  as  Dr.  Barton, 
M.  Roze,  Henri  Deutsch,  are  fitting  motors  to 
balloons  in  the  hopes  of  solving  the  aerial  problem 
shows  that  the  airship  has  still  a  strong  hold  on  the 
minds  of  men.  But  on  reviewing  the  successes  of 
such  combinations  of  lifting  and  driving  power  it 
must  be  confessed,  with  all  due  respect  to  M.  Dumont, 
that  they  are  somewhat  meagre,  and  do  not  show 
any  great  advance. 

The  question  is  whether  these  men  are  not  working 
on  wrong  lines,  and  whether  their  utmost  endeavours 
and  those  of  their  successors  will  ever  produce  any- 
thing more  than  a  very  semi-successful  craft.  Their 
efforts  appear  foredoomed  to  failure.  As  Sir  Hiram 
Maxim  has  observed,  a  balloon  by  its  very  nature  is 
light  and  fragile,  it  is  a  mere  bubble.  If  it  were 
possible  to  construct  a  motor  to  develop  loo  horse- 
power for  every  pound  of  its  weight,  it  would  still  be 
impossible  to  navigate  a  balloon  against  a  wind  of 
more  than  a  certain  strength.  The  mere  energy 
of  the  motor  would  crush  the  gas-bag  against  the 
pressure  of  the  wind,  deform  it,  and  render  it 
unmanageable.  Balloons  therefore  must  be  at  the 
mercy  of  the  wind,  and  obliged  to  submit  to  it  under 
conditions  not  always  in  accordance  with  the  wish  of 
the  aeronaut. 

Sir  Hiram  in  condemning  the  airship  was  ready 
with  a  substitute.  On  looking  round  on  the  patterns 
of  Nature,  he  concluded  that,  inasmuch  as  all  things 

292 


Mechanical  Flight 


that  fly  are  heavier  than  air,  the  problem  of  aerial 
navigation  must  be  solved  by  a  machine  whose 
natural  tendency  is  to  fall  to  the  ground,  and  which 
can  be  sustained  only  by  the  exertion  of  great  force. 
Its  very  weight  would  enable  it  to  withstand,  at  least 
to  a  far  greater  extent  than  the  airship,  the  varying 
currents  of  the  air. 

The  lifting  principle  must  be  analogous  to  that  by 
which  a  kite  is  suspended.  A  kite  is  prevented  from 
rising  beyond  a  certain  height  by  a  string,  and  the 
pressure  of  the  wind  working  against  it  at  an  angle 
tends  to  lift  it,  like  a  soft  wedge  continuously  driven 
under  it.  In  practice  it  makes  no  difference  whether 
the  kite  be  stationary  in  a  wind  or  towed  rapidly 
through  a  dead  calm ;  the  wedge-like  action  of  the 
air  remains  the  same. 

Maxim  decided  upon  constructing  what  was  practi- 
cally a  huge  compound  kite  driven  by  very  powerful 
motors. 

But  before  setting  to  work  on  the  machine  itself 
he  made  some  useful  experiments  to  determine  the 
necessary  size  of  his  kites  or  aeroplanes,  and  the 
force  requisite  to  move  them. 

He  accordingly  built  a  "  whirling-table,"  consisting 
of  a  long  arm  mounted  on  a  strong  pivot  at  one 
end,  and  driven  by  a  lo  horse-power  engine.  To 
the  free  end,  which  described  a  circle  of  200  feet  in 
circumference,  he  attached  small  aeroplanes,  and 
by  means  of    delicate   balances   discovered    that  at 

293 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

40  miles  an  hour  the  aeroplane  would  lift  133  lbs.  per 
horse-power,  and  at  60  miles  per  hour  every  square 
foot  of  surface  sustained  8  lbs.  weight.  He,  in 
common  with  other  experimenters  on  the  same  lines, 
became  aware  of  the  fact  that  if  it  took  a  certain 
strain  to  suspend  a  stationary  weight  in  the  air,  to 
advance  it  rapidly  as  well  as  to  suspend  it  took  a  smaller 
strain.  Now,  as  on  sea  and  land,  increased  speed 
means  a  very  rapid  increase  in  the  force  required, 
this  is  a  point  in  favour  of  the  flying-machine. 
Professor  Langley  found  that  a  brass  plate  weighing 
a  pound,  when  whirled  at  great  speed,  was  sup- 
ported in  the  air  by  a  pulling  pressure  of  less  than 
one  ounce.  And,  of  course,  as  the  speed  increased 
the  plate  became  more  nearly  horizontal,  offering  less 
resistance  to  the  air. 

It  is  on  this  behaviour  of  the  aeroplane  that  the 
hopes  of  Maxim  and  others  have  been  based.  The 
swiftly  moving  aeroplane,  coming  constantly  on  to 
fresh  air,  the  inertia  of  which  had  not  been  disturbed, 
would  resemble  the  skater  who  can  at  high  speed 
traverse  ice  that  would  not  bear  him  at  rest. 

Maxim  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  aeroplanes  and  engines.  He  made  a 
special  machine  for  testing  fabrics,  to  decide  which 
would  be  most  suitable  for  stretching  over  strong 
frames  to  form  the  planes.  The  fabric  must  be  light, 
very  strong,  and  offer  small  frictional  resistance  to 
the    air.      The    testing-machine    was    fitted    with    a 

294 


Mechanical  Flight 


nozzle,  through  which  air  was  forced  at  a  known  pace 
on  to  the  substance  under  trial,  which  met  the  air 
current  at  a  certain  angle  and  by  means  of  indicators 
showed  the  strength  of  its  "  lift "  or  tendency  to  rise, 
and  that  of  its  "  drift "  or  tendency  to  move  horizon- 
tally in  the  direction  of  the  air-current.  A  piece  of 
tin,  mounted  at  an  angle  of  one  in  ten  to  the  air- 
curren',  showed  a  ^'lift"  of  ten  times  its  "drift." 
This  proportion  was  made  the  standard.  Experi- 
ments conducted  on  velvet,  plush,  silk,  cotton  and 
woollen  goods  proved  that  the  drift  of  crape  was 
several  times  that  of  its  lift,  but  that  fine  linen  had  a 
lift  equal  to  nine  times  its  drift  ;  while  a  sample  of 
Spencer's  balloon  fabric  was  as  good  as  tin. 

Accordingly  he  selected  this  balloon  fabric  to 
stretch  over  light  but  strong  frames.  The  stretching 
of  the  material  was  no  easy  matter,  as  uneven  tension 
distorted  it  ;  but  eventually  the  aeroplanes  were  com- 
pleted, tight  as  drumheads. 

The  large  or  central  plane  was  50  feet  wide  and 
40  long  ;  on  either  side  were  auxiliary  planes,  five 
pairs  ;  giving  a  total  area  of  5400  square  feet. 

The  steam-engine  built  to  give  the  motive  power 
was  perhaps  the  most  interesting  feature  of  the  whole 
construction.  Maxim  employed  steam  in  preference 
to  any  other  power  as  being  one  with  which  he  was 
most  familiar,  and  yielding  most  force  in  proportion 
to  the  weight  of  the  apparatus.  He  designed  and 
constructed    a    pair    of    high -pressure    compound 

295 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

engines,  the  high-pressure  cylinders  5  inches  in 
diameter^  the  low-pressure  8  inches,  and  both  i 
foot  stroke.  Steam  was  supplied  to  the  high- 
pressure  cylinders  at  320  lbs.  per  square  inch  from 
a  tubular  boiler  heated  by  a  gasolene  burner  so 
powerful  in  its  action  as  to  raise  the  pressure 
from  100  to  200  lbs.  in  a  minute.  The  total 
weight  of  the  boiler,  burner,  and  engines  develop- 
ing 350  horse-power  was  2000  lbs.,  or  about  6  lbs. 
per  horse-power. 

The  two  screw-propellers  driven  by  the  engine 
measured   17  feet   11   inches  in  diameter. 

The  completed  flying-machine,  weighing  7500 
lbs.,  was  mounted  on  a  railway-truck  of  9 -foot 
gauge,  in  Baldwyn's  Park,  Kent,  not  far  from  the 
gun  -  factories  for  which  Sir  Hiram  is  famous. 
Outside  and  parallel  to  the  9-foot  track  was  a 
second  track,  35  feet  across,  with  a  reversed  rail, 
so  that  as  soon  as  the  machine  should  rise  from 
the  inner  track  long  spars  furnished  with  flanged 
wheels  at  their  extremities  should  press  against  the 
under  side  of  the  outer  track  and  prevent  the 
machine  from  rising  too  far.  Dynamometers,  or 
instruments  for  measuring  strains,  were  fitted  to 
decide  the  driving  and  lifting  power  of  the  screws. 
Experiments  proved  that  with  the  engines  working  at 
full  power  the  screw-thrust  against  the  air  was  2200 
lbs.,  and  the  lifting  force  of  the  aeroplanes  10,000  lbs., 
or  1500  in  excess  of  the  machine's  weight. 

296 


Mechanical  Flight 


Everything  being  ready  the  machine  was  fastened 
to  a  dynamometer  and  steam  run  up  until  it  strained  at 
its  tether  with  maximum  power  ;  when  the  moorings 
were  suddenly  released  and  it  bounded  forward  at  a 
terrific  pace,  so  suddenly  that  some  of  the  crew  were 
flung  violently  down  on  to  the  platform.  When  a 
speed  of  42  miles  was  reached  the  inner  wheels  left 
their  track,  and  the  outer  wheels  came  into  play. 
Unfortunately,  the  long  3  5 -foot  axletrees  were  too 
weak  to  bear  the  strain,  and  one  of  them  broke.  The 
upper  track  gave  way,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  world  a  flying-machine  actually  left  the 
ground  fully  equipped  with  engines,  boiler,  fuel,  and 
a  crew.  The  journey,  however,  was  a  short  one,  for 
part  of  the  broken  track  fouled  the  screws,  snapped  a 
propeller  blade  and  necessitated  the  shutting  oif  of 
the  steam,  which  done,  the  machine  settled  to  earth, 
the  wheels  sinking  into  the  sward  and  show^ing  by 
the  absence  of  any  marks  that  it  had  come  directly 
downwards  and  not  run  along  the  surface. 

The  inventor  was  prevented  by  other  business, 
and  by  the  want  of  a  sufficiently  large  open  space, 
from  continuing  his  experiments,  which  had  de- 
monstrated that  a  large  machine  heavier  than  air 
could  be  made  to  lift  itself  and  move  at  high 
speed.  Misfortune  alone  prevented  its  true  capa- 
cities being  shown. 

Another  experimenter  on  similar  lines,  but  on  a 
less  heroic   scale  than   Sir   Hiram   Maxim,   is    Pro- 

297 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

fessor  S.  P.  Langley,  the  secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  Washington.  For  sixteen  years 
he  has  devoted  himself  to  a  persevering  course  of 
study  of  the  flying-machine,  and  after  oft-repeated 
failures  has  scored  a  decided  success  in  his 
Aerodrome,  which,  though  only  a  model,  has 
made  considerable  flights.  His  researches  have 
proved  beyond  doubt  that  the  amount  of  energy 
required  for  flight  is  but  one-fiftieth  of  what  was 
formerly  regarded  as  a  minimum.  A  French  mathe- 
matician had  proved  by  figures  that  a  swallow 
must  develop  the  power  of  a  horse  to  maintain 
its  rapid  flight !  Professor  Langley's  aerodrome 
has  told  a  very  different  tale,  affording  another 
instance  of  the  truth  of  the  saying  that  an  ounce 
of  practice  is  worth  a  pound  of  theory. 

A  bird  is  nearly  one  thousand  times  heavier 
than  the  air  it  displaces.  As  a  motor  it  develops 
huge  power  for  its  weight,  and  consumes  a  very 
large  amount  of  fuel  in  doing  so.  An  observant 
naturalist  has  calculated  that  the  homely  robin 
devours  per  diem,  in  proportion  to  its  size,  what 
would  be  to  a  man  a  sausage  two  hundred  feet 
long  and  three  inches  thick  1  Any  one  who  has 
watched  birds  pulling  worms  out  of  the  garden 
lawn  and  swallowing  them  wholesale  can  readily 
credit  this. 

Professor  Langley  therefore  concentrated  him- 
self  on  the   production   of  an   extremely   light   and 

298 


Mechanical   Flight 


at  the  same  time  powerful  machine.  Like  Maxim, 
he  turned  to  steam  for  motive-power,  and  by 
rigid  economy  of  weight  constructed  an  engine 
with  boilers  weighing  5  lbs.,  cylinders  of  26 
ozs.,  and  an  energy  of  i  to  ij  horse-power! 
Surely  a  masterpiece  of  mechanical  workman- 
ship 1  This  he  enclosed  in  a  boat-shaped  cover 
which  hung  from  two  pairs  of  aeroplanes  12J 
feet  from  tip  to  tip.  The  whole  apparatus 
weighed  nearly  30  lbs.,  of  which  one  quarter  re- 
presented the  machinery.  Expefiments  with  smaller 
aerodromes  warned  the  Professor  that  rigidity 
and  balance  were  the  two  most  difficult  things  to 
attain  ;  also  that  the  starting  of  the  machine  on 
its  aerial  course  was  far  from  an  easy  matter. 

A  soaring  bird  does  not  rise  straight  from  the 
ground,  but  opens  its  wings  and  runs  along  the 
ground  until  the  pressure  of  the  air  raises  it 
sufficiently  to  give  a  full  stroke  of  its  pinions. 
Also  it  rises  against  the  wind  to  get  the  full 
benefit  of  its  lifting  force.  Professor  Langley 
hired  a  houseboat  on  the  Potomac  River,  and  on 
the  top  of  it  built  an  apparatus  from  which  the 
aerodrome  could  be  launched  into  space  at  high 
velocity. 

On  May  6,  1896,  after  a  long  wait  for  pro- 
pitious weather,  the  aerodrome  was  despatched  on 
a  trial  trip.  It  rose  in  the  face  of  the  wind  and 
travelled  for  over  half  a  mile  at  the  rate  of  twenty- 

299 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

five  miles  an  hour.  The  water  and  fuel  being 
then  exhausted  it  settled  lightly  on  the  water  and 
was  again  launched.  Its  flight  on  both  occasions 
was  steady,  and  limited  only  by  the  rapid  con- 
sumption of  its  power-producing  elements.  The 
Professor  believes  that  larger  machines  would  re- 
main in  the  air  for  a  long  period  and  travel  at 
speeds  hitherto  unknown  to  us. 

In  both  the  machines  that  we  have  considered 
the  propulsive  power  was  a  screw.  No  counter- 
part of  it  is  seen  in  Nature.  This  is  not  a  valid 
argument  against  its  employment,  since  no  animal 
is  furnished  with  driving-wheels,  nor  does  any  fish 
carry  a  revolving  propeller  in  its  tail.  But  some 
inventors  are  strongly  in  favour  of  copying  Nature 
as  regards  the  employment  of  wings.  Mr.  Sydney 
H.  Hollands,  an  enthusiastic  aeromobilist,  has  de- 
vised an  ingenious  cylinder-motor  so  arranged  as 
to  flap  a  pair  of  long  wings,  giving  them  a  much 
stronger  impulse  on  the  down  than  on  the  up 
stroke.  The  pectoral  muscles  of  a  bird  are  re- 
produced by  two  strong  springs  which  are  extended 
by  the  upward  motion  of  the  wings  and  store  up 
energy  for  the  down-stroke.  Close  attention  is 
also  being  paid  to  the  actual  shape  of  a  bird's 
wing,  which  is  not  flat  but  hollow  on  its  under 
side,  and  at  the  front  has  a  slightly  downward 
dip.  "  Aerocurves "  are  therefore  likely  to  super- 
sede the   "aeroplane,"   for  Nature  would  not  have 

300 


M.  Santos  Dumont's  Airship  returning  to  Longchamps  after  doubling 
the  Eiffel  Tower,  October  19,  1901, 

[To  face  p.  300. 


Mechanical  Flight 


built  bird's  wings  as  they  are  without  an  object. 
The  theory  of  the  aerocurve's  action  is  this : 
that  the  front  of  the  wing;  on  striking  the  air, 
gives  it  a  downwards  motion,  and  if  the  wing 
were  quite  flat  its  rear  portion  would  strike  air 
already  in  motion,  and  therefore  less  buoyant. 
The  curvature  of  a  floating  bird's  wings,  which 
becomes  more  and  more  pronounced  towards  the 
rear,  counteracts  this  yielding  of  the  air  by  pressing 
harder  upon  it  as  it  passes  towards  their  hinder 
edge. 

The  aerocurve  has  been  used  by  a  very  interest- 
ing group  of  experimenters,  those  who,  putting 
motors  entirely  aside,  have  floated  on  wings,  and 
learnt  some  of  the  secrets  of  balancing  in  the  air. 
For  a  man  to  propel  himself  by  flapping  wings 
moved  by  legs  or  arms  is  impossible.  Sir  Hiram 
Maxim,  in  addressing  the  Aeronautical  Society, 
once  said  that  for  a  man  to  successfully  imitate 
a  bird  his  lungs  must  weigh  40  lbs.,  to  consume 
sufficient  oxygen,  his  breast  muscles  75  lbs.,  and 
his  breast  bone  be  extended  in  front  21  inches. 
And  unless  his  total  weight  were  increased  his 
legs  must  dwindle  to  the  size  of  broomsticks,  his 
head  to  that  of  an  apple  !  So  that  for  the  present 
we  shall  be  content  to  remain  as  we  are  ! 

Dr.  Lilienthal,  a  German,  was  the  first  to  try 
scientific  wing-sailing.  He  became  a  regular  air 
gymnast,   running    down    the    sides    of   an  artificial 

301 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

mound  until  the  wings  lifted  him  up  and  enabled 
him  to  float  a  considerable  distance  before  reaching 
earth  again.  His  wings  had  an  area  of  i6o  square 
feet,  or  about  a  foot  to  every  pound  weight.  He 
was  killed  by  the  wings  collapsing  in  mid-air.  A 
similar  fate  also  overtook  Mr.  Percy  Pilcher,  who 
abandoned  the  initial  run  down  a  sloping  surface  in 
favour  of  being  towed  on  a  rope  attached  to  a  fast- 
moving  vehicle.  At  present  Mr.  Octave  Chanute,  of 
Chicago,  is  the  most  distinguished  member  of  the 
"  gliding "  school.  He  employs,  instead  of  wings, 
a  species  of  kite  made  up  of  a  number  of  small 
aerocurves  placed  one  on  the  top  of  another  a  small 
distance  apart.  These  box  kites  are  said  to  give  a 
great  lifting  force  for  their  weight. 

These  and  many  other  experimenters  have  had  the 
same  object  in  view — to  learn  the  laws  of  equilibrium 
in  the  air.  Until  these  are  fully  understood  the 
construction  of  large  flying-machines  must  be  re- 
garded as  somewhat  premature.  Man  must  walk 
before  he  can  run,  and  balance  himself  before  he 
can  fly. 

There  is  no  falling  off  in  the  number  of  aerial 
machines  and  schemes  brought  from  time  to  time 
into  public  notice.  We  may  assure  ourselves  that 
if  patient  work  and  experiment  can  do  it  the  prob- 
lem of  "  how  to  fly  "  is  not  very  far  from  solution 
at  the  present  moment. 

As  a  sign  of  the  times,  the  War  Office,  not  usually 

302 


Mechanical  Flight 


very  ready  to  take  up  a  new  idea,  has  interested  itself 
in  the  airship,  and  commissioned  Dr.  F.  A.  Barton 
to  construct  a  dirigible  balloon  which  combines  the 
two  systems  of  aerostation.  Propulsion  is  effected 
by  six  sets  of  triple  propellers,  three  on  each  side. 
Ascent  is  brought  about  partly  by  a  balloon  i8o 
feet  long,  containing  156,000  cubic  feet  of  hydrogen, 
partly  by  nine  aeroplanes  having  a  total  superficial 
area  of  nearly  2000  square  feet.  The  utilisation  of 
these  aeroplanes  obviates  the  necessity  to  throw  out 
ballast  to  rise,  or  to  let  out  gas  for  a  descent.  The 
airship,  being  just  heavier  than  air,  is  raised  by  the 
135  horse-power  motors  pressing  the  aeroplanes 
against  the  air  at  the  proper  angle.  •  In  descent  they 
act  as  parachutes. 

The  most  original  feature  of  this  war  balloon  is 
the  automatic  water-balance.  At  each  end  of  the 
"  deck "  is  a  tank  holding  forty  gallons  of  water. 
Two  pumps  circulate  water  through  these  tanks, 
the  amount  sent  into  a  tank  being  regulated  by  a 
heavy  pendulum  which  turns  on  the  cock  leading  to 
the  end  which  may  be  highest  in  proportion  as  it 
turns  off  that  leading  to  the  lower  end.  The  idea  is 
very  ingenious,  and  should  work  successfully  when 
the  time  of  trial  comes. 

Valuable  money  prizes  will  be  competed  for  by 
aeronauts  at  the  coming  World's  Fair  at  St.  Louis 
in  1903.  Sir  Hiram  Maxim  has  expressed  an  in- 
tention of  spending  ^^20,000  in  further  experiments 

303 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

and  prizes.  In  this  country,  too,  certain  journals 
have  offered  large  rewards  to  any  aeronaut  who 
shall  make  prescribed  journeys  in  a  given  time. 
It  has  also  been  suggested  that  aeronautical  research 
should  be  endowed  by  the  state,  since  England  has 
nothing  to  fear  more  than  the  flying  machine  and 
the  submarine  boat,  each  of  which  tends  to  rob  her 
of  the  advantages  of  being  an  island  by  exposing  her 
to  unexpected  and  unseen  attacks. 

Tennyson,  in  a  fine  passage  in  "  Locksley  Hall," 
turns  a  poetical  eye  towards  the  future.  This  is 
what  he  sees — 

**  For  I  dipt  into  the  future,  far  as  human  eye  could  see, 
Saw  the  vision  of  the  world  and  all  the  wonder  that  would  be, 
Saw  the  heavens  fill  with  commerce,  argosies  of  magic  sail. 
Pilots  of  the  purple  twilight  dropping  down  with  costly  bales. 
Heard  the  heavens  fill  with  shouting,  then  there  rained  a 

ghostly  dew, 
From  the  nations'  airy  navies,  grappling  in  the  central  blue." 

Expressed  in  more  prosaic  language,  the  flying- 
machine  will  primarily  be  used  for  mihtary  purposes. 
A  country  cannot  spread  a  metal  umbrella  over  itself 
to  protect  its  towns  from  explosives  dropped  from 
the  clouds. 

Mail  services  will  be  revolutionised.  The  pleasure 
aerodrome  will  take  the  place  of  the  yacht  and 
motor-car,  affording  grand  opportunities  for  the 
mountaineer  and  explorer  (if  the  latter  could  find 
anything  new  to  explore).     Then  there  will  also  be 

304 


Mechanical   Flight 


a  direct  route  to  the  North  Pole  over  the  top  of 
those  terrible  icefields  that  have  cost  civilisation  so 
many  gallant  lives.  And  possibly  the  ease  of  tran- 
sit will  bring  the  nations  closer  together,  and  pro- 
duce good-fellowship  and  concord  among  them. 
It  is  pleasanter  to  regard  the  flying-machine  of  the 
future  as  a  bringer  of  peace  than  as  a  novel  means 
of  spreading  death  and  destruction. 


305 


U 


TYPE-SETTING  BY  MACHINERY. 

To  the  Assyrian  brickmakers  who,  thousands  of  years 
agO;  used  blocks  wherewith  to  impress  on  their  un- 
baked bricks  hieroglyphics  and  symbolical  characters, 
must  be  attributed  the  first  hesitating  step  towards 
that  most  marvellous  and  revolutionary  of  human 
discoveries — the  art  of  printing.  Not,  however,  till 
the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  did  Gutenberg 
and  Coster  conceive  the  brilliant  but  simple  idea  of 
printing  from  separate  types,  which  could  be  set  in 
different  orders  and  combinations  to  represent  differ- 
ent ideas.  For  Englishmen,  1474  deserves  to  rank 
with  18 1 5,  as  in  that  year  a  very  Waterloo  was  won 
on  English  soil  against  the  forces  of  ignorance  and 
oppression,  though  the  effects  of  the  victory  were  not 
at  once  evident.  Considering  the  stir  made  at  the 
time  by  the  appearance  of  Caxton's  first  book  at 
Westminster,  it  seems  strange  that  an  invention  of 
such  importance  as  the  printing-press  should  have 
been  frowned  upon  by  those  in  power,  and  so  dis- 
couraged that  for  nearly  two  centuries  printing  re- 
mained an  ill-used  and  unprogressive  art,  a  giant 
half  strangled  in  his  cradle.  Yet  as  soon  as  prejudice 
gave  it  an  open  field,  improved  methods  followed 
close  on  one  another's  heels.    To-day  we  have  in  the 

306 


Type-Setting  by  Machinery 

place  of  Caxton's  rude  hand-made  press  great  cylinder 
machines  capable  of  absorbing  paper  by  the  mile,  and 
grinding  out  20,000  impressions  an  hour  as  easily  as  a 
child  can  unwind  a  reel  of  cotton. 

Side  by  side  with  the  problem  how  to  produce  the 
greatest  possible  number  of  copies  in  a  given  time 
from  one  machine,  has  arisen  another  : — how  to  set  up 
type  with  a  proportionate  rapidity.  A  press  without 
type  is  as  useless  as  a  chaff-cutter  without  hay  or 
straw.  The  type  once  assembled,  as  many  casts  or 
stereotypes  can  be  made  from  it  as  there  are  machines 
to  be  worked.  But  to  arrange  a  large  body  of  type 
in  a  short  time  brings  the  printer  face  to  face  with  the 
need  of  employing  the  expensive  services  of  a  small 
army  of  compositors — unless  he  can  attain  his  end  by 
some  equally  efficient  and  less  costly  means.  For  the 
last  century  a  struggle  has  been  in  progress  between 
the  machine  compositor  and  the  human  compositor, 
mechanical  ingenuity  against  eye  and  brains.  In  the 
last  five  years  the  battle  has  turned  most  decidedly  in 
favour  of  the  machine.  To-day  there  are  in  existence 
two  wonderful  contrivances  which  enable  a  man  to 
set  up  type  six  times  as  fast  as  he  could  by  hand  from 
a  box  of  type,  with  an  ease  that  reminds  one  of  the 
mythical  machine  for  the  conversion  of  live  pigs  into 
strings  of  sausages  by  an  uninterrupted  series  of 
movements. 

These  machines  are  called  respectively  the  Linotype 
and  Monotype.  Roughly  described,  they  are  to  the 
compositor  what  a  typewriter  is  to  a  clerk — forming 

307 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

words  in  obedience  to  the  depression  of  keys  on  a 
keyboard.  But  whereas  the  typewriter  merely  im- 
prints a  single  character  on  paper,  the  linotype  and 
monotype  cast,  deliver,  and  set  up  type  from  which 
an  indefinite  number  of  impressions  can  be  taken. 
They  meet  the  compositor  more  than  half-w^ay, 
and  simplify  his  labour  while  hugely  increasing  his 
productiveness. 

As  far  back  as  1842  periodicals  were  mechanically 
composed  by  a  machine  which  is  now  practically 
forgotten.  Since  that  time  hundreds  of  other  inven- 
tions have  been  patented,  and  some  scores  of  different 
machines  tried,  though  with  small  success  in  most 
cases  ;  as  it  was  found  that  quality  of  composition  was 
sacrificed  to  quantity,  and  that  what  at  first  appeared 
a  short  cut  to  the  printing-press  was  after  all  the 
longest  way  round,  when  corrections  had  all  been 
attended  to.  A  really  economical  type-setter  must  be 
accurate  as  well  as  prolific.  Slipshod  work  will  not 
pay  in  the  long  run. 

Such  a  machine  was  perfected  a  few  years  ago  by 
Ottmar  Mergenthaler  of  Baltimore,  who  devised  the 
plan  of  casting  a  whole  line  of  type.  The  Linotype 
Composing  Machine,  to  give  it  its  full  title,  produces 
type  all  ready  for  the  presses  in  "  slugs "  or  lines — 
hence  the  name,  Lin'  o'  type.  It  deserves  at  least  a 
short  description. 

The  Linotype  occupies  about  six  square  feet  of 
floor  space,  weighs  one  ton,  and  is  entirely  operated 
by  one  man.     Its  most  prominent  features  are  a  slop- 

308 


By  kiitd  fermission  o_f\ 


{The  Linotype  Co. 


The  Linotype  Machine.  By  pressing  keys  on  the  key-hoard  the  operator 
causes  lines  of  type  to  be  set  np,  cast,  and  arranged  on  the 
^^  galley"  ready  for  the  printers. 

ITo  face  p.  308. 


Type-Setting  by  Machinery 

ing  magazine  at  the  top  to  hold  the  brass  matrices,  or 
dies  from  which  the  type  is  cast,  a  keyboard  control- 
Hng  the  machinery  to  drop  and  collect  the  dies,  and  a 
long  lever  which  restores  the  dies  to  the  magazine 
when  done  with. 

The  operator  sits  facing  the  keyboard,  in  which  are 
ninety  keys,  variously  coloured  to  distinguish  the 
different  kinds  of  letters.  His  hands  twinkle  over  the 
keys,  and  the  brass  dies  fly  into  place.  When  a  key  is 
depressed  a  die  shoots  from  the  magazine  on  to  a 
travelling  belt  and  is  whirled  off  to  the  assembling-box. 
Each  die  is  a  flat,  oblong  brass  plate,  of  a  thickness 
varying  with  the  letter,  having  a  large  V-shaped  notch 
in  the  top,  and  the  letter  cut  half-way  down  on  one  of 
the  longer  sides.  A  corresponding  letter  is  stamped 
on  the  side  nearest  to  the  operator  so  that  he  may  see 
what  he  is  doing  and  make  needful  corrections. 

As  soon  as  a  word  is  complete,  he  touches  the 
"spacing"  lever  at  the  side  of  the  keyboard.  The 
action  causes  a  "  space  "  to  be  placed  against  the  last 
die  to  separate  it  from  the  following  word.  The 
operations  are  repeated  until  the  tinkle  of  a  bell  warns 
him  that,  though  there  may  be  room  for  one  or  two 
more  letters,  the  line  will  not  admit  another  whole 
syllable.  The  Hne  must  therefore  be  "  justified,"  that 
is,  the  spaces  between  the  words  increased  till  the 
vacant  room  is  filled  in.  In  hand  composition  this 
takes  a  considerable  time,  and  is  irksome ;  but  at  the 
linotype  the  operator  merely  twists  a  handle  and  the 
wedge-shaped  "  spaces,"  placed  thin  end  upwards,  are 

309 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

driven  up  simultaneously,  giving  the  lateral  expansion 
required  to  make  the  line  of  the  right  measure. 

A  word  about  the  *^  spaces/'  or  space-bands.  Were 
each  a  single  wedge  the  pressure  would  be  on  the 
bottom  only  of  the  dies,  and  their  tops,  being  able  to 
move  slightly,  would  admit  lead  between  them.  To 
obviate  this  a  small  second  wedge,  thin  end  downwards^ 
is  arranged  to  slide  on  the  larger  wedge,  so  that  in  all 
positions  parallelism  is  secured.  This  smaller  wedge 
is  of  the  same  shape  as  the  dies  and  remains  stationary 
in  line  with  them,  the  larger  one  only  moving. 

The  line  of  dies  being  now  complete,  it  is  auto- 
matically borne  off  and  pressed  into  contact  with  the 
casting  wheel.  This  wheel,  revolving  on  its  centre, 
has  a  slit  in  it  corresponding  in  length  and  width  to 
the  size  of  line  required.  At  first  the  slit  is  horizontal, 
and  the  dies  fit  against  it  so  that  the  row  of  sunk 
letters  on  the  faces  are  in  the  exact  position  to  receive 
the  molten  lead,  which  is  squirted  through  the  slit 
from  behind  by  an  automatic  pump,  supplied  from  a 
metal-pot.  The  pot  is  kept  at  a  proper  heat  of  550* 
Fahrenheit  by  the  flames  of  a  Bunsen  burner. 

The  lead  solidifies  in  an  instant,  and  the  "  slug " 
of  type  is  ready  for  removal,  after  its  back  has  been 
carefully  trimmed  by  a  knife.  The  wheel  revolves 
for  a  quarter-turn,  bringing  the  slit  into  a  vertical 
position  ;  a  punch  drives  out  the  "  slug,"  which  is  slid 
into  the  galley  to  join  its  predecessors.  The  wheel 
then  resumes  its  former  horizontal  position  in  readi- 
ness for  another  cast, 

310 


Type-Setting  by  Machinery 

The  assembled  dies  have  for  the  time  done  their 
work  and  must  be  returned  to  the  magazine.  The 
mechanism  used  to  effect  this  is  peculiarly  ingenious. 

An  arm  carrying  a  ribbed  bar  descends.  The  dies 
are  pushed  up,  leaving  the  *' spaces"  behind  to  be 
restored  to  their  proper  compartment,  till  on  a  level 
with  the  ribbed  bar,  on  to  which  they  are  slid  by  a 
lateral  movement,  the  notches  of  the  V-shaped  open- 
ing in  the  top  side  of  each  die  engaging  with  the  ribs 
on  the  bar.  The  bar  then  ascends  till  it  is  in  line 
with  a  longer  bar  of  like  section  passing  over  the 
open  top  of  the  entire  magazine.  A  set  of  horizontal 
screw-bars,  rotating  at  high  speed,  transfer  the  dies 
from  the  short  to  the  long  bar,  along  which  they 
move  till,  as  a  die  comes  above  its  proper  division  of 
the  magazine,  the  arrangement  of  the  teeth  allows  it 
to  drop.  While  all  this  has  been  going  on,  the 
operator  has  composed  another  line  of  moulds,  which 
will  in  turn  be  transferred  to  the  casting  wheel,  and 
then  back  to  the  magazine.  So  that  the  three  opera- 
tions of  composing,  casting,  and  sorting  moulds  are 
in  progress  simultaneously  in  different  parts  of  the 
machine ;  with  the  result  that  as  many  as  20,000 
letters  can  be  formed  by  an  expert  in  the  space  of 
an  hour,  against  the  1500  letters  of  a  skilled  hand 
compositor. 

How  about  corrections  ?  Even  a  comma  too  few 
or  too  many  needs  the  whole  line  cast  over  again. 
It  is  a  convincing  proof  of  the  difference  in  speed 
between  the  two  methods  that  a  column  of  type  can 

311 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

be  corrected  much  faster  by  the  machine,  handi- 
capped as  it  is  by  its  solid  '*  slugs,"  than  by  hand. 
No  wonder  then  that  more  than  looo  linotypes  are 
to  be  found  in  the  printing  offices  of  Great  Britain. 

The  Monotype,  like  the  Linotype,  aims  at  speed  in 
composition,  but  in  its  mechanism  it  differs  essen- 
tially from  the  linotype.  In  the  first  place,  the 
apparatus  is  constructed  in  two  quite  separate  parts. 
There  is  a  keyboard,  which  may  be  on  the  third  floor 
of  the  printing  offices,  and  the  casting  machine,  which 
ceaselessly  casts  and  sets  type  in  the  basement.  Yet 
they  are  but  one  whole.  The  connecting  link  is  the 
long  strip  of  paper  punched  by  the  keyboard  mechan- 
ism, and  then  transferred  to  the  casting  machine  to 
bring  about  the  formation  of  type.  The  keyboard  is 
the  servant  of  man  ;  the  casting  machine  is  the  slave 
of  the  keyboard. 

Secondly,  the  Monotype  casts  type,  not  in  blocks 
or  a  whole  line,  but  in  separate  letters.  It  is  thus  a 
complete  type-foundry.  Order  it  to  cast  G's  and  it 
will  turn  them  out  by  the  thousand  till  another  letter 
is  required. 

Thirdly,  by  means  of  the  punched  paper  roll,  the 
same  type  can  be  set  up  time  after  time  without  a 
second  recourse  to  the  keyboard,  just  as  a  tune  is 
ground  repeatedly  out  of  a  barrel  organ. 

The  keyboard  has  a  formidable  appearance.  It 
contains  225  keys,  providing  as  many  characters ; 
also  thirty  keys  to  regulate  the  spacing  of  the  words. 
At  the  back  of  the  machine  a  roll  of  paper  runs  over 

312 


By  kind  permission  qf^ 


[The  Monotype  Co. 


The  Monotype  Casting  Machine.     A  funched  fapcr  roll  fed  throngh  the  top  of 
the  machine  aiitomatically  casts  and  set,  np  type  in  separate  letters. 

[To  face  p.  312. 


Type-Setting  by   Machinery 

rollers  and  above  a  row  of  thirty  little  punches 
worked  by  the  keys.  A  key  being  depressed,  an 
opened  valve  admits  air  into  two  cylinders,  each 
driving  a  punch.  The  punches  fly  up  and  cut  two 
neat  little  holes  in  the  paper.  The  roll  then  moves 
forward  for  the  next  letter.  At  the  end  of  the  word 
a  special  lever  is  used  to  register  a  space,  and  so  on 
to  the  end  of  the  line.  The  operator  then  consults  an 
automatic  indicator  which  tells  him  exactly  how 
much  space  is  left,  and  how  much  too  long  or  too 
short  the  line  would  be  if  the  spaces  were  of  the 
normal  size.  Supposing,  for  instance,  that  there  are 
ten  spaces,  and  that  there  is  one-tenth  of  an  inch  to 
spare.  It  is  obvious  that  by  extending  each  space 
one-hundredth  of  an  inch  the  vacant  room  will  be 
exactly  filled.  Similarly,  if  the  ten  normal  spaces 
would  make  the  line  one-tenth  of  an  inch  too  longy 
by  decreasing  the  spaces  each  one-hundredth  inch  the 
line  will  also  be  *^  justified." 

But  the  operator  need  not  trouble  his  head  about 
calculations  of  this  kind.  His  indicator,  a  vertical 
cylinder  covered  with  tiny  squares,  in  each  of  which 
are  printed  two  figures,  tell  him  exactly  what  he  has 
to  do.  On  pressing  a  certain  key  the  cylinder  revolves 
and  comes  to  rest  with  the  tip  of  a  pointer  over  a 
square.  The  operator  at  once  presses  down  the  keys 
bearing  the  numbers  printed  on  that  square,  confident 
that  the  line  will  be  of  the  proper  length. 

As  soon  as  the  roll  is  finished,  it  is  detached  from 
the  keyboard  and  introduced  to  the  casting  machine. 

313 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Hitherto  passive,  it  now  becomes  active.  Having 
been  placed  in  position  on  the  rollers  it  is  slowly 
unwound  by  the  machinery.  The  paper  passes  over 
a  hollow  bar  in  which  there  are  as  many  holes  as 
there  were  punches  in  the  keyboard,  and  in  precisely 
the  same  position.  When  a  hole  in  the  paper  comes 
over  a  hole  in  the  hollow  bar  air  rushes  in,  and 
passing  through  a  tube  actuates  the  type-setting 
machinery  in  a  certain  manner,  so  as  to  bring  the 
desired  die  into  contact  with  molten  lead.  The  dies 
are,  in  the  monotype,  all  carried  in  a  magazine  about 
three  inches  square,  which  moves  backwards  or  for- 
wards, to  right  or  left,  in  obedience  to  orders  from 
the  perforated  roll.  The  dies  are  arranged  in  exactly 
the  same  way  as  the  keys  on  the  keyboard.  So  that, 
supposing  A  to  have  been  stamped  on  the  roll,  one  of 
the  perforations  causes  the  magazine  to  slide  one  way, 
while  the  other  shoves  it  another,  until  the  combined 
motions  bring  the  matrix  engraved  with  the  A  under- 
neath the  small  hole  through  which  molten  lead  is 
forced.  The  letter  is  ejected  and  moves  sideways 
through  a  narrow  channel,  pushing  preceding  letters 
before  it,  and  the  magazine  is  free  for  other 
movements. 

At  the  end  of  each  word  a  '*  space  "  or  blank  lead  is 
cast,  its  size  exactly  determined  by  the  "  justifying '' 
hole  belonging  to  that  line.  Word  follows  word  till 
the  line  is  complete ;  then  a  knife-like  lever  rises,  and 
the  type  is  propelled  into  the  "galley."  Though  a 
slave  the  casting  machine  will  not  tolerate   injustice 

314 


Type-Setting  by  Machinery 

Should  the  compositor  have  made  a  mistake,  so  that 
the  line  is  too  long  or  too  short,  automatic  machinery 
at  once  comes  into  play,  and  slips  the  driving  belt 
from  the  fixed  to  the  loose  pulley,  thus  stopping  the 
machine  till  some  one  can  attend  to  it.  But  if  the 
punching  has  been  correctly  done,  the  machine  will 
work  away  unattended  till,  a  whole  column  of  type 
having  been  set  up,  it  comes  to  a  standstill. 

The  advantages  of  the  Monotype  are  easily  seen. 
In  order  to  save  money  a  man  need  not  possess  the 
complete  apparatus.  If  he  has  the  keyboard  only  he 
becomes  to  a  certain  extent  his  own  compositor,  able 
to  set  up  the  type,  as  it  were  by  proxy,  at  any  con- 
venient time.  He  can  give  his  undivided  attention  to 
the  keyboard,  stop  work  whenever  he  likes  without 
keeping  a  casting-machine  idle,  and  as  soon  as  his  roll 
is  complete  forward  it  to  a  central  establishment 
where  type  is  set.  There  a  single  man  can  superin- 
tend the  completion  of  half-a-dozen  men's  labours 
at  the  keyboard.  That  means  a  great  reduction  of 
expense. 

In  due  time  he  receives  back  his  copy  in  the  shape 
of  set-up  type,  all  ready  to  be  corrected  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  printing  machines.  The  type  done  with, 
he  can  melt  it  down  without  fear  of  future  regret,  for 
he  knows  that  the  paper  roll  locked  up  in  his  cup- 
board will  do  its  work  a  second  time  as  well  as  it  did 
the  first.  Should  he  need  the  same  matter  re-setting, 
he  has  only  to  send  the  roll  through  the  post  to  the 
central  establishment. 

315 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

Thanks  to  Mr.  Lanston's  invention  we  may  hope 
for  the  day  when  every  parish  will  be  able  to  do  its 
own  printing,  or  at  least  set  up  its  own  magazine. 
The  only  thing  needful  will  be  a  monotype  key- 
board supplied  by  an  enlightened  Parish  Council — as 
soon  as  the  expense  appears  justifiable  —  and  kept 
in  the  Post  Office  or  Village  Institute.  The  payment 
of  a  small  fee  will  entitle  the  Squire  to  punch  out  his 
speech  on  behalf  of  the  Conservative  Candidate^  the 
Schoolmaster  to  compose  special  information  for  his 
pupils,  the  Rector  to  reduce  to  print  pamphlets  and 
appeals  to  charity.  And  if  those  of  humbler  degree 
think  they  can  strike  eloquence  from  the  keys,  they 
too  will  of  course  be  allowed  to  turn  out  their  ideas 
literally  by  the  yard. 


316 


PHOTOGRAPHY   IN   COLOURS. 

While  photography  was  still  in  its  infancy  many 
people  believed  that,  a  means  having  been  found  of 
impressing  the  representation  of  an  object  on  a 
sensitised  surface,  a  short  time  only  would  have 
to  elapse  before  the  discovery  of  some  method  of 
registering  the  colours  as  well  as  the  forms  of 
nature. 

Photography  has  during  the  last  forty  years  passed 
through  some  startling  developments,  especially  as 
regards  speed.  Experts,  such  as  M.  Marey,  have 
proved  the  superiority  of  the  camera  over  the  human 
eye  in  its  power  to  grasp  the  various  phases  of  animal 
motion.  Even  rifle  bullets  have  been  arrested  in  their 
lightning  flight  by  the  sensitised  plate.  But  while 
the  camera  is  a  valuable  aid  to  the  eye  in  the  matter  of 
form,  the  eye  still  has  the  advantage  so  far  as  colour 
is  concerned.  It  is  still  impossible  for  a  photographer 
by  a  simple  process  similar  to  that  of  making  an 
ordinary  black-and-white  negative,  to  affect  a  plate  in 
such  a  manner  that  from  it  prints  may  be  made  by 
a  single  operation  showing  objects  in  their  natural 
colours.  Nor,  for  the  matter  of  that,  does  colour 
photography  direct  from  nature  seem  any  nearer 
attainment  now  than  it  was  in  the  time  of  Daguerre. 

317 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

There  are,  however,  extant  several  methods  of 
making  colour  photographs  in  an  indirect  or  round- 
about way.  These  various  "  dodges  "  are,  apart  from 
their  beautiful  results,  so  extremely  ingenious  and 
interesting  that  we  propose  to  here  examine  three  of 
the  best  known. 

The  reader  must  be  careful  to  banish  from  his  mind 
those  coloured  photographs  so  often  to  be  seen  in 
railway  carriages  and  shop  windows,  which  are  purely 
the  result  of  hand-work  and  mechanical  printing,  and 
therefore  not  colour  photographs  at  all. 

Before  embarking  on  an  explanation  of  these  three 
methods  it  will  be  necessary  to  examine  briefly  the 
nature  of  those  phenomena  on  which  all  are  based — 
light  and  colour.  The  two  are  really  identical,  light 
is  colour  and  colour  is  light. 

Scientists  now  agree  that  the  sensation  of  light 
arises  from  the  wave-like  movements  of  that  mys- 
terious fluid,  the  omnipresent  ether.  In  a  beam  of 
white  light  several  rates  of  wave  vibrations  exist  side 
by  side.  Pass  the  beam  through  a  prism  and  the 
various  rapidities  are  sorted  out  into  violet,  indigo, 
blue,  green,  yellow,  orange  and  red,  which  are  called 
the  pure  colours,  since  if  any  of  them  be  passed  again 
through  a  prism  the  result  is  still  that  colour.  Crim- 
son, brown,  &c.,  the  composite  colours,  would,  if 
subjected  to  the  prism,  at  once  split  up  into  their 
component  pure  colours. 

318 


Photography  in  Colours 

There  are  several  points  to  be  noticed  about  the 
relationship  of  the  seven  pure  colours.  In  the  first 
place,  though  they  are  all  allies  in  the  task  of  making 
white  light,  there  is  hostility  among  them,  each  being 
jealous  of  the  others,  and  only  waiting  a  chance  to 
show  it.  Thus,  suppose  that  we  have  on  a  strip  of 
paper  squares  of  the  seven  colours,  and  look  at  the 
strip  through  a  piece  of  red  glass  we  see  only  one 
square — the  red — in  its  natural  colour,  since  that 
square  is  in  harmony  only  with  red  rays.  (Compare 
the  sympathy  of  a  piano  with  a  note  struck  on  another 
instrument ;  if  C  is  struck,  say  on  a  violin,  the  piano 
strings  producing  the  corresponding  note  will  sound, 
but  the  other  strings  will  be  silent.)  The  orange 
square  suggests  orange,  but  the  green  and  blue  and 
violet  appear  black.  Red  glass  has  arrested  their 
ether  vibrations  and  said  '*  no  way  here."  Green  and 
violet  would  serve  just  the  same  trick  on  red  or  on 
each  other.  It  is  from  this  readiness  to  absorb  or 
stop  dissimilar  rays  that  we  have  the  different  colours 
in  a  landscape  flooded  by  a  common  white  sunlight. 
The  trees  and  grass  absorb  all  but  the  green  rays, 
which  they  reflect.  The  dandelions  and  buttercups 
capture  and  hold  fast  all  but  the  yellow  rays.  The 
poppies  in  the  corn  send  us  back  red  only,  and  the 
cornflowers  only  blue  ;  but  the  daisy  is  more  generous 
and  gives  up  all  the  seven.  Colour  therefore  is  not  a 
thing  that  can  be  touched,  any  more  than  sound,  but 

319 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

merely  the  capacity  to  affect  the  retina  of  the  eye  with 
a  certain  number  of  ether  vibrations  per  second,  and 
it  makes  no  difference  whether  Hght  is  reflected  from 
a  substance  or  refracted  through  a  substance ;  a  red 
brick  and  a  piece  of  red  glass  have  similar  effects  on 
the  eye. 

This  then  is  the  first  thing  to  be  clearly  grasped, 
that  whenever  a  colour  has  a  chance  to  make  prisoners 
of  other  colours  it  will  do  so. 

The  second  point  is  rather  more  intricate,  viz.  that 
this  imprisonment  is  going  on  even  when  friendly 
concord  appears  to  be  the  order  of  the  day.  Let  us 
endeavour  to  present  this  clearly  to  the  reader.  Of 
the  pure  colours,  violet,  green  and  red — the  extremes 
and  the  centre — are  sufficient  to  produce  white,  be- 
cause each  contains  an  element  of  its  neighbours. 
Violet  has  a  certain  amount  of  indigo,  green  some 
yellow,  red  some  orange ;  in  fact  every  colour  of  the 
spectrum  contains  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  several 
of  the  others,  but  not  enough  to  destroy  its  own 
identity.  Now,  suppose  that  we  have  three  lanterns 
projecting  their  rays  on  to  the  same  portion  of  a 
white  sheet,  and  that  in  front  of  the  first  is  placed  a 
violet  glass,  in  front  of  the  second  a  green  glass,  in 
front  of  the  third  a  red  glass.  What  is  the  result? 
A  white  light.  Why?  Because  they  meet  on  equal 
termSf  and  as  no  one  of  them  is  in  a  point  of  advan- 
tage no  prisoners  can  be  made  and  they  must  work  in 

320 


Photography  in  Colours 

harmony.  Next,  turn  down  the  violet  lantern,  and 
green  and  red  produce  a  yellow,  half-way  between 
them ;  turn  down  red  and  turn  up  violet,  indigo- 
blue  results.  All  the  way  through  a  compromise  is 
effected. 

But  supposing  that  the  red  and  green  glasses  are 
put  in  front  of  the  same  lantern  and  the  white  light 
sent  through  them — where  has  the  yellow  gone  to  ? 
only  a  brownish-black  light  reaches  the  screen.  The 
same  thing  happens  with  red  and  violet  or  green 
and  violet. 

Prisoners  have  been  taken,  because  one  colour  has 
had  to  demand  passage  from  the  other.  Red  says  to 
green,  "  You  want  your  rays  to  pass  through  me,  but 
they  shall  not."  Green  retorts,  *'  Very  well ;  but  I 
myself  have  already  cut  off  all  but  green  rays,  and  if 
they  don't  pass  you,  nothing  shall."  And  the  conse- 
quence of  the  quarrel  is  practical  darkness. 

The  same  phenomenon  may  be  illustrated  with  blue 
and  yellow.  Lights  of  these  two  colours  projected 
simultaneously  on  to  a  sheet  yield  white ;  but  white 
light  sent  through  blue  and  yellow  glass  in  succession 
produces  a  green  light.  Also,  blue  paint  mixed  with 
yellow  gives  green.  In  neither  case  is  there  darkness 
or  entire  cutting-off  of  colour,  as  in  the  case  of  Red  -f 
Violet  or  Green  -f-  Red. 

The  reason  is  easy  to  see. 

Blue  light  is  a   compromise  of  violet  and  green ; 

321  X 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

yellow  of  green  and  red.  Hence  the  two  coloured 
lights  falling  on  the  screen  make  a  combination  which 
can  be  expressed  as  an  addition  sum. 

Blue  =  green  +  violet. 
Yellow  =  green  4-  red. 


green + violet + red  =  white. 

But  when  light  is  passed  through  two  coloured 
glasses  in  succession,  or  reflected  from  two  layers  of 
coloured  paints,  there  are  prisoners  to  be  made. 

Blue  passes  green  and  violet  only. 

Yellow  passes  green  and  red  only. 

So  violet  is  captured  by  yellow,  and  red  by  blue, 
green  being  free  to  pass  on  its  way. 

There  is,  then,  a  great  difference  between  the  mixing 
of  colours,  which  evokes  any  tendency  to  antagonism, 
and  the  adding  of  colours  under  such  conditions  that 
they  meet  on  equal  terms.  The  first  process  happens, 
as  we  have  seen,  when  a  ray  of  light  is  passed  through 
colours  in  succession ;  the  second,  when  lights  stream 
simultaneously  on  to  an  object.  A  white  screen,  being 
capable  of  reflecting  any  colour  that  falls  on  to  it,  will 
with  equal  readiness  show  green,  red,  violet,  or  a 
combination  ;  but  a  substance  that  is  in  white  light 
red,  or  green,  or  violet  will  capture  any  other  colour. 
So  that  if  for  the  white  screen  we  substituted  a  red 
one,  violet  or  green  falling  simultaneously,  would 
yield  blackness,  because  red  takes  both  prisoners ;  if  it 
were  violet,  green  would  be  captured,  and  so  on. 

322 


Photography  in  Colours 

From  this  follows  another  phenomenon ;  that 
whereas  projection  of  two  or  more  lights  may  yield 
white,  white  cannot  result  from  any  mixture  of  pig- 
ments. A  person  with  a  whole  boxful  of  paints  could 
not  get  white  were  he  to  mix  them  in  an  infinitude  of 
different  ways  ;  but  with  the  aid  of  his  lanterns  and 
as  many  differently  coloured  glasses  the  feat  is  easy 
enough. 

Any  two  colours  which  meet  on  equal  terms  to 
make  white  are  called  complementary  colours. 

Thus  yellow  (  =  red + green  lights)  is  complementary 

of  violet. 
Thus  pink  (  =  red H- violet  lights)  is  complementary 

of  green. 
Thus  blue  (  =  violet -f  green  lights)  is  complementary 

of  red. 

This  does  not  of  course  apply  to  mixture  of  paints, 
for  complementary  colours  must  act  together,  not  in 
antagonism. 

If  the  reader  has  mastered  these  preliminary  con- 
siderations he  will  have  no  difficulty  in  following  out 
the  following  processes. 

{a)  The  Joly  Process^  invented  by  Professor  ]oly 
of  Dublin.  A  glass  plate  is  ruled  across  with  fine 
parallel  lines — 350  to  the  inch,  we  believe.  These 
lines  are  filled  in  alternately  with  violet,  green,  and 
red  matter,  every  third  being  violet,  green  or  red 
as  the  case  may  be.     The  colour-screen  is  placed  in 

323 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  camera  in  front  of  the  sensitised  plate.  Upon  an 
exposure  being  made,  all  light  reflected  from  a  red 
object  (to  select  a  colour)  is  allowed  to  pass  through 
the  red  lines,  but  blocked  by  all  the  green  and  violet 
lines.  So  that  on  development  that  part  of  the 
negative  corresponding  to  the  position  of  the  red 
object  will  be  covered  with  dark  lines  separated  by 
transparent  belts  of  twice  the  breadth.  From  the 
negative  a  positive  is  printed,  which  of  course  shows 
transparent  lines  separated  by  opaque  belts  of  twice 
their  breadth.  Now,  suppose  that  we  take  the  colour- 
screen  and  place  it  again  in  front  of  the  plate  in  the 
position  it  occupied  when  the  negative  was  taken,  the 
red  lines  being  opposite  the  transparent  parts  of  the 
positive  will  be  visible,  but  the  green  and  violet  being 
blocked  by  the  black  deposit  behind  them  will  not  be 
noticeable.  So  that  the  object  is  represented  by  a 
number  of  red  lines,  which  at  a  small  distance  appear 
to  blend  into  a  continuous  whole. 

The  violet  and  green  affect  the  plate  in  a  corre- 
sponding manner  ;  and  composite  colours  will  affect 
two  sets  of  lines  in  varying  degrees,  the  lights  from 
the  two  sets  blending  in  the  eye.  Thus  yellow  will 
obtain  passage  from  both  green  and  red,  and  when 
the  screen  is  held  up  against  the  positive,  the  light 
streaming  through  the  green  and  red  lines  will  blend 
into  yellow  in  the  same  manner  as  they  would  make 
yellow  if  projected  by  lanterns  on  to  a  screen.  The 
same  applies  to  all  the  colours. 

324 


Photography  in  Colours 

The  advantage  of  the  Joly  process  is  that  in  it  only 
one  negative  has  to  be  made. 

{b)  The  Ives  Process. — Mr.  Frederic  Eugene  Ives, 
of  Philadelphia,  arrives  at  the  same  result  as  Professor 
Joly,  but  by  an  entirely  different  ^means.  He  takes 
three  negatives  of  the  same  object,  one  through  a 
violet-blue,  another  through  a  green,  and  a  third 
through  a  red  screen  placed  in  front  of  the  lens. 
The  red  negative  is  affected  by  red  rays  only  ;  the 
green  by  green  rays  only,  and  the  violet-blue  by 
violet-blue  rays  only,  in  the  proper  gradations.  That 
is  to  say,  each  negative  will  have  opaque  patches 
wherever  the  rays  of  a  certain  kind  strike  it ;  and 
the  positive  printed  off  will  be  by  consequence  tran- 
sparent at  the  same  places.  By  holding  the  positive 
made  from  the  red-screen  negative  against  a  piece  of 
red  glass,  we  should  see  light  only  in  those  parts  of 
the  positive  which  were  transparent.  Similarly  with 
the  green  and  violet  positives  if  viewed  through 
glasses  of  proper  colour.  The  most  ingenious  part 
of  Mr.  Ives'  method  is  the  apparatus  for  presenting 
all  three  positives  (lighted  through  their  coloured 
glasses)  to  the  eye  simultaneously.  When  properly 
adjusted,  so  that  their  various  parts  exactly  coincide, 
the  eye  blends  the  three  together,  seeing  green,  red, 
or  violet  separately,  or  blended  in  correct  proportions. 
The  Kromoscope,  as  the  viewing  apparatus  is  termed, 
contains  three  mirrors,  projecting  the  reflections  from 
the  positives  in  a  single  line.     As  the  three  slides  are 

32s 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

taken  stereoscopically  the  result  gives  the  impression 
of  solidity  as  well  as  of  colour,  and  is  most  realistic. 

{c)  The  Sanger  Shepherd  Process, — ^This  is  employed 
mostly  for  lantern  transparencies.  As  in  the  Ives 
process,  three  negatives  and  three  transparent  positives 
are  made.  But  instead  of  coloured  glasses  being  used 
to  give  effect  to  the  positives  the  positives  themselves 
are  dyed,  and  placed  one  on  the  top  of  another  in 
close  contact,  so  that  the  light  from  the  lantern  passes 
through  them  in  succession.  We  have  therefore  now 
quitted  the  realms  of  harmony  for  that  of  discord, 
in  which  prisoners  are  made  ;  and  Mr.  Shepherd  has 
had  to  so  arrange  matters  that  in  every  case  the 
capture  of  prisoners  does  not  interfere  with  the  final 
result,  but  conduces  to  it. 

In  the  first  place,  three  negatives  are  secured 
through  violet,  green,  and  red  screens.  Positives  are 
printed  by  the  carbon  process  on  thin  celluloid  films. 
The  carbon  film  contains  gelatine  and  bichromate  of 
potassium.  The  light  acts  on  the  bichromate  in  such 
a  way  as  to  render  the  gelatine  insoluble.  The  result 
is  that,  though  in  the  positives  there  is  at  first  no 
colour,  patches  of  gelatine  are  left  which  will  absorb 
dyes  of  various  colours.  The  dyeing  process  requires 
a  large  amount  of  care  and  patience. 

Now,  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  each 
positive  is  dyed  in  the  colour  of  the  screen  through 
which  its  negative  was  taken.  A  moment's  considera- 
tion will  show  us  why. 

326 


Photography  in  Colours 

Let  us  assume  that  we  are  photographing  a  red 
object,  a  flower-pot  for  instance.  The  red  negative 
represents  the  pot  by  a  dark  deposit.  The  positive 
printed  off  will  consequently  show  clear  glass  at  that 
spot,  the  unaffected  gelatine  being  soluble.  So  that 
to  dye  the  plate  would  be  to  make  all  red  except  the 
very  part  which  we  require  red ;  and  on  holding  it 
up  to  the  light  the  flower-pot  would  appear  as  a  white 
transparent  patch. 

How  then  is  the  problem  to  be  solved  ? 

Mr.  Shepherd's  process  is  based  upon  an  ordered 
system  of  prisoner-taking.  Thus,  as  red  in  this  par- 
ticular case  is  wanted  it  will  be  attained  by  the  other 
two  positives  (which  are  placed  in  contact  with  the 
red  positive,  so  that  all  three  coincide  exactly), 
robbing  white  light  of  all  but  its  red  rays. 

Now  if  the  other  positives  were  dyed  green  and 
violet,  what  would  happen  ?  They  would  not  pro- 
duce red,  but  by  robbing  white  light  between  them 
of  red,  green,  and  violet,  would  produce  blackness, 
and  we  should  be  as  far  as  ever  from  our  object. 

The  positives  are  therefore  dyed,  not  in  the  same 
colours  as  the  screens  used  when  the  negatives  were 
made,  but  in  their  complementary  colours,  i.e,  as  ex- 
plained above,  those  colours  which  added  to  the 
colour  of  the  screen  would  make  white. 

The  red  screen  negative  is  therefore  dyed  (violet  4- 
green)  =  blue.  The  green  negative  (red  +  violet)  = 
pink.    The  violet  negative  (red  -|-  green)  =  yellow. 

327 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

To  return  to  our  flower-pot.  The  red-screen 
positive  (dyed  blue)  is,  as  we  saw,  quite  transparent 
where  the  pot  should  be.  But  behind  the  trans- 
parent gap  are  the  pink  and  yellow  positives. 

White  light  (  =  violet  +  green  +  red)  passes  through 
pink  (  =  violet  -f-  red),  and  has  to  surrender  all  its 
green  rays.  The  violet  and  red  pass  on  and  en- 
counter yellow  (  =  green  +  red),  and  violet  falls  a 
victim  to  green,  leaving  red  unmolested. 

If  the  flower-pot  had  been  white  all  three  positives 
would  have  contained  clear  patches  unaffected  by  the 
three  dyes,  and  the  white  light  would  have  been  un- 
obstructed. The  gradations  and  mixtures  of  colours 
are  obtained  by  two  of  the  screens  being  influenced 
by  the  colour  of  the  object.  Thus,  if  it  were  crimson, 
both  violet  and  red-screen  negatives  would  be  affected 
by  the  rays  reflected  by  it,  and  the  green  screen 
negative  not  at  all.  Hence  the  pink  positive  would 
be  pink,  the  yellow  clear,  and  the  blue  clear. 

White  light  passing  through  is  robbed  by  pink  of 
green,  leaving  red  -J-  violet  =  crimson. 

Colour   Printing. 

Printing  in  ink  colours  is  done  in  a  manner  very 
similar  to  the  Sanger  Shepherd  lantern  slide  process. 
Three  blocks  are  made,  by  the  help  of  photography, 
through  violet,  green  and  red  screens,  and  etched 
away  with  acid,   like    ordinary  half-tone    black-and- 

328 


Colour  Photography 

white  blocks.  The  three  blocks  have  applied  to  them 
ink  of  a  complementary  colour  to  the  screen  they 
represent,  just  as  in  the  Sanger  Shepherd  process  the 
positives  were  dyed.  The  three  inks  are  laid  over  one 
another  on  the  paper  by  the  blocks,  the  relieved  parts 
of  which  (corresponding  to  the  undissolved  gelatine 
of  the  Shepherd  positives)  only  take  the  ink.  White 
light  being  reflected  through  layers  of  coloured  inks 
is  treated  in  just  the  same  way  as  it  would  be  were  it 
transmitted  through  coloured  glasses,  yielding  all  the 
colours  in  approximately  correct  gradations. 


329 


LIGHTING. 

The  production  of  fire  by  artificial  means  has  been 
reasonably  regarded  as  the  greatest  invention  in  the 
history  of  the  human  race.  Prior  to  the  day  when  a 
man  was  first  able  to  call  heat  from  the  substances 
about  him  the  condition  of  our  ancestors  must  have 
been  wretched  indeed,  Raw  food  was  their  portion  ; 
metals  mingled  with  other  matter  mocked  their  efforts 
to  separate  them ;  the  cold  of  winter  drove  them  to 
the  recesses  of  gloomy  caverns,  where  night  reigned 
perpetual. 

The  production  of  fire  also,  of  course,  entailed  the 
creation  of  light,  which  in  its  developments  has  been 
of  an  importance  second  only  to  the  improved 
methods  of  heating.  So  accustomed  are  we  to  our 
candles,  our  lamps,  our  gas-jets,  our  electric  lights, 
that  it  is  hard  for  us  to  imagine  what  an  immense 
effect  their  sudden  and  complete  removal  would  have 
on  our  existence.  At  times,  when  floods,  explosions, 
or  other  accidents  cause  a  temporary  stoppage  of  the 
gas  or  current  supply,  a  town  may  for  a  time  be 
plunged  into  darkness ;  but  this  only  for  a  short 
period,  the  distress  of  which   can   be  alleviated   by 

330 


Lighting 


recourse    to    paraffin    lampS;  or    the    more   homely 
candle. 

The  earliest  method  of  illumination  was  the  rough- 
and-ready  one  of  kindling  a  pile  of  brushwood  or 
logs.  The  light  produced  was  very  uncertain  and 
feeble,  but  possibly  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the 
cave-dweller.  With  the  advance  of  civilisation  arose 
an  increasing  necessity  for  a  more  steady  illuminant, 
discovered  in  vegetable  oils,  burned  in  lamps  of 
various  designs.  Lamps  have  been  found  in  old 
Egyptian  and  Etruscan  tombs  constructed  thousands 
of  years  ago.  These  lamps  do  not  differ  essentially 
from  those  in  use  to-day,  being  reservoirs  fitted  with 
a  channel  to  carry  a  wick. 

But  probably  from  the  difficulty  of  procuring  oil, 
lamps  fell  into  comparative  disuse,  or  rather  were 
almost  unknown,  in  many  countries  of  Europe  as 
late  as  the  fifteenth  century ;  when  the  cottage  and 
baronial  hall  were  alike  lit  by  the  blazing  torch 
fixed  into  an  iron  sconce  or  bracket  on  the  wall. 

The  rushlight,  consisting  of  a  peeled  rush,  coated 
by  repeated  dipping  into  a  vessel  of  melted  fat,  made 
a  feeble  effort  to  dispel  the  gloom  of  long  winter 
evenings.  This  was  succeeded  by  the  tallow  and 
more  scientifically  made  wax  candle,  which  last  still 
maintains  a  certain  popularity. 

How  our  grandmothers  managed  to  "keep  their 
eyes "  as  they  worked  at  stitching  by  the  light  of  a 
couple  of  candles,  whose  advent  was  the  event  of  the 

33i 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

evening,  is  now  a  mystery.  To-day  we  feel  aggrieved 
if  our  lamps  are  not  of  many  candle-power,  and  protest 
that  our  sight  will  be  ruined  by  what  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago  would  have  seemed  a  marvel  of  illumi- 
nation. In  the  case  of  lighting  necessity  has  been  the 
mother  of  invention.  The  tendency  of  modern  life  is 
to  turn  night  into  day.  We  go  to  bed  late  and  we  get  up 
late ;  this  is  perhaps  foolish,  but  still  we  do  it.  And, 
what  is  more,  we  make  increasing  use  of  places,  such 
as  basements,  underground  tunnels,  and  ^^  tubes,"  to 
which  the  light  of  heaven  cannot  penetrate  during 
any  of  the  daily  twenty-four  hours. 

The  nineteenth  century  saw  a  wonderful  advance 
in  the  science  of  illumination.  As  early  as  1804  the 
famous  scientist.  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  discovered  the 
electric  arc,  presently  to  be  put  to  such  universal  use. 
About  the  same  time  gas  was  first  manufactured  and 
led  about  in  pipes.  But  before  electricity  for  lighting 
purposes  had  been  rendered  sufficiently  cheap  the 
discovery  of  the  huge  oil  deposits  in  Pennsylvania 
flooded  the  world  with  an  inexpensive  illuminant. 
As  early  as  the  thirteenth  century  Marco  Polo,  the 
explorer,  wrote  of  a  natural  petroleum  spring  at  Baku, 
on  the  Caspian  Sea  :  "  There  is  a  fountain  of  great 
abundance,  inasmuch  as  a  thousand  shiploads  might 
be  taken  from  it  at  one  time.  This  oil  is  not  good  to 
use  with  food,  but  it  is  good  to  burn  ;  and  is  also  used 
to  anoint  camels  that  have  the  mange.  People  come 
from  vast  distances  to  fetch  it,  for  in  all  other  coun- 

332 


Lighting 

tries  there  is  no  oil."  His  last  words  have  been 
confuted  by  the  American  oil-fields,  yielding  many 
thousands  of  barrels  a  day — often  in  such  quantities 
that  the  oil  runs  to  waste  for  lack  of  a  buyer. 

The  rivals  for  pre-eminence  in  lighting  to-day  are 
electricity,  coal  gas,  petroleum,  and  acetylene  gas. 
The  two  former  have  the  advantage  of  being  easily 
turned  on  at  will,  like  water ;  the  third  is  more  gener- 
ally available. 

The  invention  of  the  dynamo  by  Gramme  in  1870 
marks  the  beginning  of  an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
illumination.  With  its  aid  current  of  such  intensity 
as  to  constantly  bridge  an  air-gap  between  carbon 
points  could  be  generated  for  a  fraction  of  the  cost 
entailed  by  other  previous  methods.  Paul  Jabloch- 
koff  devised  in  1876  his  '*  electric  candle  " — a  couple 
of  parallel  carbon  rods  separated  by  an  insulating 
medium  that  wasted  away  under  the  influence  of  heat 
at  the  same  rate  as  the  rods.  The  '^  candles  "  were 
used  with  rapidly-alternating  currents,  as  the  positive 
**  pole "  wasted  twice  as  quickly  as  the  negative. 
During  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1878  visitors  to  Paris 
were  delighted  by  the  new  method  of  illumination 
installed  in  some  of  the  principal  streets  and  theatres. 

The  arc-lamp  of  to-day,  such  as  we  see  in  our 
streets,  factories,  and  railway  stations,  is  a  modifica- 
tion of  M.  Jablochkoff's  principle.  Carbon  rods  are 
used,  but  they  are  pointed  towards  ^ach  other,  the 
distance  between  their  extremities  being  kept  constant 

333 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

by  ingenious  mechanical  contrivances.  Arc-lamps  of 
all  types  labour  under  the  disadvantage  of  being,  by 
necessity,  very  powerful ;  and  were  they  only  avail- 
able the  employment  of  electric  lighting  would  be 
greatly  restricted.  As  it  is,  we  have,  thanks  to  the 
genius  of  Mr.  Edison,  a  means  of  utilising  current  in 
but  small  quantities  to  yield  a  gentler  light.  The 
glow-lamp,  as  it  is  called,  is  so  familiar  to  us  that  we 
ought  to  know  something  of  its  antecedents. 

In  the  arc-lamp  the  electric  circuit  is  broken  at  the 
point  where  light  is  required.  In  glow  or  incandes- 
cent lamps  the  current  is  only  hindered  by  the  inter- 
position of  a  bad  conductor  of  electricity,  which  must 
also  be  incombustible.  Just  as  a  current  of  water  flows 
in  less  volume  as  the  bore  of  a  pipe  is  reduced,  and 
requires  that  greater  pressure  shall  be  exerted  to  force 
a  constant  amount  through  the  pipe,  so  is  an  electric 
current  choked  hy  its  conductor  being  reduced  in  size 
or  altered  in  nature.  Edison  in  1878  employed  as  the 
current-choker  a  very  fine  platinum  wire,  which,  having 
a  melting  temperature  of  3450  degrees  Fahrenheit, 
allowed  a  very  white  heat  to  be  generated  in  it.  The 
wire  was  enclosed  in  a  glass  bulb  almost  entirely  ex- 
hausted of  air  by  a  mercury-pump  before  being  sealed. 
But  it  was  found  that  even  platinum  could  not  always 
withstand  the  heating  effect  of  a  strong  current ;  and 
accordingly  Edison  looked  about  for  some  less  com- 
bustible material.  Mr.  J.  W.  Swan  of  Newcastle-on- 
Tyne  had  already  experimented  with  carbon  filaments 

334 


Lighting 

made  from  cotton  threads  steeped  in  sulphuric  acid. 
Edison  and  Swan  joined  hands  to  produce  the  present 
well-known  lamp,  ^'The  Ediswan,"  the  filament  of 
which  is  a  bamboo  fibre,  carbonised  during  the  ex- 
haustion of  air  in  the  bulb  to  one-millionth  of  an 
atmosphere  pressure  by  passing  the  electric  current 
through  it.  These  bamboo  filaments  are  very  elastic 
and  capable  of  standing  almost  any  heat. 

Glow-lamps  are  made  in  all  sizes — from  tiny  globes 
small  enough  to  top  a  tie-pin  to  powerful  lamps  of 
1000  candle-power.  Their  independence  of  atmo- 
spheric air  renders  them  most  convenient  in  places 
where  other  forms  of  illumination  would  be  dangerous 
or  impossible  ;  e.g,  in  coal  mines,  and  under  water 
during  diving  operations.  By  their  aid  great  im- 
provements have  been  effected  in  the  lighting  of 
theatres,  which  require  a  quick  switching  on  and 
off  of  light.  They  have  also  been  used  in  connection 
with  minute  cameras  to  explore  the  recesses  of  the 
human  body.  In  libraries  they  illuminate  without 
injuring  the  books.  In  living  rooms  they  do  not 
foul  the  air  or  blacken  the  ceiling  like  oil  or  gas 
burners.  The  advantages  of  the  *^  Edison  lamp  "  are, 
in  short,  multitudinous. 

Cheapness  of  current  to  work  them  is,  of  course, 
a  very  important  condition  of  their  economy.  In 
some  small  country  villages  the  cottages  are  lit  by 
electricity  even  in  England,  but  these  are  generally 
within  easy    reach    of   water   power.      Mountainous 

335 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

districts,  such  as  Norway  and  Switzerland,  with  their 
rushing  streams  and  high  water-falls,  are  peculiarly 
suited  for  electric  lighting :  the  cost  of  which  is 
mainly  represented  by  the  expense  of  the  generating 
apparatus  and  the  motive  power. 

One  of  the  greatest  engineering  undertakings  in 
the  world  is  connected  with  the  manufacture  of 
electric  current.  Niagara,  the  "Thunder  of  the  Waters  " 
as  the  Indians  called  it,  has  been  harnessed  to  pro- 
duce electrical  energy,  convertible  at  will  into  motion, 
heat,  or  light.  The  falls  pass  all  the  water  overflow- 
ing from  nearly  100,000  square  miles  of  lakes,  which 
in  turn  drain  a  far  larger  area  of  territory.  Upwards 
of  10,000  cubic  yards  of  water  leap  over  the  falls 
every  second,  and  are  hurled  downwards  for  more 
than  200  feet,  with  an  energy  of  eight  or  nine 
million  horse-power  !  In  1886  a  company  determined 
to  turn  some  of  this  huge  force  to  account.  They 
bought  up  land  on  the  American  bank,  and  cut  a 
tunnel  6700  yards  long,  beginning  a  mile  and  a  half 
above  the  falls,  and  terminating  below  them.  Water 
drawn  from  the  river  thunders  into  the  tunnel 
through  a  number  of  wheel  pits,  at  the  bottom  of 
each  of  which  is  a  water-turbine  developing  5000 
horse-power.  The  united  force  of  the  turbines  is 
said  to  approximate  100,000  horse-power ;  and  as 
if  this  were  but  a  small  thing,  the  same  Company 
has  obtained  concessions  to  erect  plant  on  the 
Canadian  bank  to  double  or  treble  the  total  power. 

336 


Lighting 


So  cheaply  is  current  thus  produced  that  the 
Company  is  in  a  position  to  supply  it  at  rates  which 
appear  small  compared  with  those  that  prevail  in  this 
country.  A  farthing  will  there  purchase  what  would 
here  cost  from  ninepence  to  a  shilhng.  Under  such 
conditions  the  electric  lamp  need  fear  no  com- 
petitor. 

But  in  less  favoured  districts  gas  and  petroleum 
are  again  holding  up  their  heads. 

Both  coal  and  oil-gas  develop  a  great  amount  of 
heat  in  proportion  to  the  light  they  yield.  The 
hydrogen  they  contain  in  large  quantities  burns, 
when  pure,  with  an  almost  invisible  flame,  but  more 
hotly  than  any  other  known  gas.  The  particles  of 
carbon  also  present  in  the  flame  are  heated  to  white- 
ness by  the  hydrogen,  but  they  are  not  sufficient 
in  number  to  convert  more  than  a  fraction  of  the 
heat  into  light. 

A  German,  Auer  von  Welsbach,  conceived  the  idea 
of  suspending  round  the  flame  a  circular  ^'mantle" 
of  woven  cotton  steeped  in  a  solution  of  certain  rare 
earths  {e.g,  lanthanum,  yttrium,  zirconium),  to  arrest 
the  heat  and  compel  it  to  produce  bright  incandescence 
in  the  arresting  substance. 

With  the  same  gas  consumption  a  Welsbach  burner 
yields  seven  or  more  times  the  light  of  an  ordinary 
batswing  burner.  The  light  itself  is  also  of  a  more 
pleasant  description,  being  well  supplied  with  the 
blue  rays  of  the  spectrum. 

337  Y 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

The  mantle  is  used  with  other  systems  than  the 
ordinary  gas-jet.  Recently  two  methods  of  illumination 
have  been  introduced  in  which  the  source  of  illum- 
ination is  supplied  under  pressure. 

The  high-pressure  incandescent  gas  installations  of 
Mr.  William  Sugg  supply  gas  to  burners  at  five  or 
six  times  the  ordinary  pressure  of  the  mains.  The 
effect  is  to  pulverise  the  gas  as  it  issues  from  the 
nozzle  of  the  burners,  and,  by  rendering  it  more 
inflammable,  to  increase  its  heating  power  until  the 
surrounding  mantle  glows  with  a  very  brilliant  and 
white  light  of  great  penetration.  Gas  is  forced 
through  the  pipes  connected  with  the  lamps  by 
hydraulic  rams  working  gas-pumps,  which  alternately 
suck  in  and  expel  the  gas  under  a  pressure  of  twelve 
inches  {ue,  a  pressure  sufficient  to  maintain  a  column 
of  water  twelve  inches  high).  The  gas  under  this 
pressure  passes  into  a  cylinder  of  a  capacity  con- 
siderably greater  than  the  capacity  of  the  pumps. 
This  cylinder  neutralises  the  shock  of  the  rams,  when 
the  stroke  changes  from  up-  to  downstroke,  and 
vice  versd.  On  the  top  of  the  cylinder  is  fixed  a 
governor  consisting  of  a  strong  leathern  gas-holder, 
which  has  a  stroke  of  about  three  inches,  and  actuates 
a  lever  which  opens  and  closes  the  valve  through 
which  the  supply  of  water  to  the  rams  flows,  and 
reduces  the  flow  of  the  water  when  it  exceeds  ten 
or  twelve  inches  pressure,  according  to  circumstances. 
The   gas-holder  of    the    governor    is    lifted    by  the 

338 


Lip^htin 


pressure  of  the  gas  in  the  cylinder,  which  passes 
through  a  small  opening  from  the  cylinder  to  the 
governor  so  as  not  to  cause  any  sudden  rise  or  fall 
of  the  gas-holder.  By  this  means  a  nearly  constant 
pressure  is  maintained  ;  and  from  the  outlet  of  the 
cylinder  the  gas  passes  to  another  governor  sufficient 
to  supply  the  number  of  lights  the  apparatus  is  de- 
signed for,  and  to  maintain  the  pressure  without 
variation  whether  all  or  a  few  lamps  are  in  action. 
For  very  large  installations  steam  is  used. 

Each  burner  develops  300  candle-power.  A  double- 
cylinder  steam-engine  working  a  double  pump  sup- 
plies 300  of  these  burners,  giving  a  total  lighting- 
power  of  90,000  candles.  As  compared  with  the 
cost  of  low-pressure  incandescent  lighting  the  high- 
pressure  system  is  very  economical,  being  but  half  as 
expensive  for  the  same  amount  of  light. 

It  is  largely  used  in  factories  and  railway  stations. 
It  may  be  seen  on  the  Tower  Bridge,  Blackfriars 
Bridge,  Euston  Station,  and  in  the  terminus  of  the 
Great  Central  Railway,  St.  John's  Wood. 

Perhaps  the  most  formidable  rival  to  the  electric 
arc-lamp  for  the  lighting  of  large  spaces  and  buildings 
is  the  Kitson  Oil  Lamp,  now  so  largely  used  in 
America  and  this  country. 

The  lamp  is  usually  placed  on  the  top  of  an  iron 
post  similar  to  an  ordinary  gas-light  standard.  At 
the  bottom  of  the  post  is  a  chamber  containing  a 
steel  reservoir  capable  of  holding  from  five  to  forty 

339 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

gallons  of  petroleum.  Above  the  oil  is  an  air-space 
into  which  air  has  been  forced  at  a  pressure  of  fifty 
lbs.  to  the  square  inch,  to  act  as  an  elastic  cushion 
to  press  the  oil  into  the  burners.  The  oil  passes 
upwards  through  an  extremely  fine  tube  scarcely 
thicker  than  electric  incandescent  wires  to  a  pair  of 
cross  tubes  above  the  burners.  The  top  one  of 
these  acts  as  a  filter  to  arrest  any  foreign  matter  that 
finds  its  way  into  the  oil ;  the  lower  one,  in  diameter 
about  the  size  of  a  lead-pencil  and  eight  inches  long, 
is  immediately  above  the  mantles,  the  heat  from  which 
vaporises  the  small  quantity  of  oil  in  the  tube.  The 
oil-gas  then  passes  through  a  tiny  hole  no  larger  than 
a  needle-point  into  an  open  mixing-tube  where  suffi- 
cient air  is  drawn  in  for  supporting  combustion.  The 
mixture  then  travels  down  to  the  mantle,  inside  which 
it  burns. 

An  ingenious  device  has  lately  been  added  to  the 
system  for  facilitating  the  lighting  of  the  lamp.  At 
the  base  of  the  lamp-post  a  small  hermetically-closed 
can  containing  petroleum  ether  is  placed,  and  con- 
nected by  very  fine  copper-tubing  with  a  burner 
under  the  vaporising  tube.  When  the  lamp  is  to  be 
lit  a  small  rubber  bulb  is  squeezed,  forcing  a  quantity 
of  the  ether  vapour  into  the  burner,  where  it  is  ignited 
by  a  platinum  wire  rendered  incandescent  by  a  cur- 
rent passing  from  a  small  accumulator  also  placed 
in  the  lamp-post.  The  burner  rapidly  heats  the 
vaporising   tube,  and  in   a   few   moments    oil-gas   is 

340 


Lighting 


passing  into  the  mantles,  where  it  is  ignited  by  the 
burner. 

So  economical  is  the  system  that  a  light  of  looo 
candle-power  is  produced  by  the  combustion  of  about 
half-a-pint  of  petroleum  per  hour  !  Comparisons  are 
proverbially  odious,  but  in  many  cases  very  instruc- 
tive. Professor  V.  B.  Lewes  thus  tabulates  the  results 
of  experiments  with  various  illuminants  : — 


Cost  of  looo  candles  per  hour. 


s,    d. 


Electricity 

.     Per  unit,  3jd. 

}> 

.     Incandescent,     • 

«         • 

I 

2 

)) 

,     Arc,  .        '^ 

•         t 

o 

1^ 
34 

Coal-gas 

,     Flat  flame, 

•        • 

I 

6 

11 

.     Incandescent, 

•         • 

o 

2i 

j» 

„              high  pressure, 

0 

i| 

Oil       . 

.     Lamp  (oil  at  8d.  per 

gall.),  . 

o 

7i 

»>         • 

.     Incandescent  lamp, 

•        • 

o 

2i 

II         • 

.     Kitson  lamp, 

•         • 

o 

I 

Petroleum,  therefore,  at  present  comes  in  a  very 
good  first  in  England. 

The  system  that  we  have  noticed  at  some  length 
has  been  adapted  for  hghthouse  use,  as  it  gives  a 
light  peculiarly  fog-piercing.  It  is  said  to  approxi- 
mate most  closely  to  ordinary  sunlight,  and  on  that 
account  has  been  found  very  useful  for  the  taking 
of  photographs  at  night-time.  The  portability  of  the 
apparatus  makes  it  popular  with  contractors  ;  and  the 
fact  that  its  installation  requires  no  tearing  up  of  the 

341 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

streets  is  a  great  recommendation  with  the  long-suffer- 
ing public  of  some  of  our  large  towns. 

Another  very  powerful  light  is  produced  by  burn- 
ing the  gas  given  off  by  carbide  of  calcium  when 
immersed  in  water.  Acetylene  gas,  as  it  is  called,  is 
now  widely  used  in  cycle  and  motor  lamps,  which 
emit  a  shaft  of  light  sometimes  painfully  dazzling  to 
those  who  have  to  face  it.  In  Germany  the  gas  is 
largely  employed  in  village  streets  ;  and  in  this 
country  it  is  gaining  ground  as  an  illuminant  of 
country  houses,  being  easy  to  manufacture  —  in 
small  gasometers  of  a  few  cubic  yards  capacity — 
and  economical  to  burn. 

Well  supplied  as  we  are  with  lights,  we  find,  never- 
theless, that  savants  are  constantly  in  pursuit  of  an 
ideal  illuminant. 

From  the  sun  are  borne  to  us  through  the  ether 
light  waves,  heat  waves,  magnetic  waves,  and  other 
waves  of  which  we  have  as  yet  but  a  dim  perception. 
The  waves  are  commingled,  and  we  are  unable  to  sepa- 
rate them  absolutely.  And  as  soon  as  we  try  to  copy 
the  sun's  effects  as  a  source  of  heat  or  light  we  find 
the  same  difficulty.  The  fire  that  cooks  our  food  gives 
off  a  quantity  of  useless  light- waves  ;  the  oil-lamp  that 
brightens  one's  rooms  gives  off  a  quantity  of  useless, 
often  obnoxious,  heat. 

The  ideal  illuminant  and  the  ideal  heating  agent 
must  be  one  in  which  the  required  waves  are  in  a 
great  majority.     Unfortunately,  even  with   our  most 

342 


Lighting 


perfected  methods,  the  production  of  light  is  accom- 
panied by  the  exertion  of  a  disproportionate  amount 
of  wasted  energy.  In  the  ordinary  incandescent  lamp, 
to  take  an  instance,  only  5  or  6  per  cent,  of  the  energy 
put  into  it  as  electricity  results  in  light.  The  rest  is 
dispelled  in  overcoming  the  resistance  of  the  filament 
and  agitating  the  few  air-molecules  in  the  bulb.  To 
this  we  must  add  the  fact  that  the  current  itself  re- 
presents but  a  fraction  of  the  power  exerted  to  pro- 
duce it.  The  following  words  of  Professor  Lodge 
are  to  the  point  on  this  subject: — 

"  Look  at  the  furnaces  and  boilers  of  a  steam-engine 
driving  a  group  of  dynamos,  and  estimate  the  energy 
expended ;  and  then  look  at  the  incandescent  fila- 
ments of  the  lamps  excited  by  them,  and  estimate 
how  much  of  their  radiated  energy  is  of  real  service 
to  the  eye.  It  will  be  as  the  energy  of  a  pitch-pipe 
to  an  entire  orchestra. 

"  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a  boy  turning  a 
handle  could,  if  his  energy  were  properly  directed, 
produce  quite  as  much  real  light  as  is  produced  by 
all  this  mass  of  mechanism  and  consumption  of 
material."  ^ 

The  most  perfect  light  in  nature  is  probably  that 
of  the  glow-worm  and  firefly — a  phosphorescent  or 
"cold"  light,  illuminating  without  combustion  owing 
to  the  absence  of  all  waves  but  those  of  the  requisite 

*  Professor  Oliver  Lodge,  in  a  lecture  to  the  Ashmoiean  Society,  3rd 
June  1889. 

343 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

frequency.  The  task  before  mankind  is  to  imitate  the 
glow-worm  in  the  production  of  isolated  light-waves. 

The  nearest  approach  to  its  achievement  has  oc- 
curred in  the  laboratories  of  Mr.  Nikola  Tesla,  the 
famous  electrician.  By  means  of  a  special  oscillator, 
invented  by  himself,  he  has  succeeded  in  throwing  the 
ether  particles  into  such  an  intense  state  of  vibration 
that  they  become  luminous.  In  other  words,  he  has 
created  vibrations  of  the  enormous  rapidity  of  light, 
and  this  without  the  creation  of  heat  waves  to  any 
appreciable  extent. 

An  incandescent  lamp,  mounted  on  a  powerful 
coil,  is  lit  without  contact  by  ether  waves  transmitted 
from  a  cable  running  round  the  laboratory,  or  bulbs 
and  tubes  containing  highly  rarefied  gases  are  placed 
between  two  large  plate-terminals  arranged  on  the 
end  walls.  As  soon  as  the  bulbs  are  held  in  the  path 
of  the  currents  passing  through  the  ether  from  plate 
to  plate  they  become  incandescent,  shining  with  a 
light  which,  though  weak,  is  sufficiently  strong  to 
take  photographs  by  with  a  long  exposure.  Tesla 
has  also  invented  what  he  calls  a  "sanitary"  light, 
as  he  claims  for  it  the  germ-killing  properties  of  sun- 
shine. The  lamps  are  glass  tubes  several  feet  long, 
bent  into  spirals  or  other  convolutions,  and  filled 
before  sealing  with  a  certain  gas.  The  ends  of  the 
glass  tube  are  coated  with  metal  and  provided  with 
hooks  to  connect  the  lamp  with  an  electric  current. 
The  gas   becomes  luminous  under  the   influence  of 

344 


Lighting 


current,  but  not  strictly  incandescent,  as  there  is 
very  little  heat  engendered.  This  means  economy 
in  use.  The  lamps  are  said  to  be  cheaply  manu- 
factured, but  as  yet  they  are  not  "on  the  market." 
We  shall  hear  more  of  them  in  the  near  future, 
which  will  probably  witness  no  more  interesting  de- 
velopment than  that  of  lighting. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  a  few  words  may  be 
said  about  new  heating  methods.  Gas  stoves  are 
becoming  increasingly  popular  by  reason  of  the  ease 
with  which  they  can  be  put  in  action  and  made  to 
maintain  an  even  temperature.  But  the  most  up- 
to-date  heating  apparatus  is  undoubtedly  electrical. 
Utensils  of  all  sorts  are  fitted  with  very  thin  heating 
strips  (formed  by  the  deposition  of  precious  metals, 
such  as  gold;  platinum,  &c.,  on  exceedingly  thin 
mica  sheets),  through  which  are  passed  powerful 
currents  from  the  mains.  The  resistance  of  the  strip 
converts  the  electromotive  energy  of  the  current  into 
heat,  which  is  either  radiated  into  the  air  or  into 
water  for  cookery,  &c. 

In  all  parts  of  the  house  the  electric  current  may  be 
made  to  do  work  besides  that  of  lighting.  It  warms 
the  passages  by  means  of  special  radiators — replacing 
the  clumsy  coal  and  "  stuffy  "  gas  stove  ;  in  the  kitchen 
it  boils,  stews,  and  fries,  heats  the  flat-irons  and  ovens; 
in  the  breakfast  room  boils  the  kettle,  keeps  the  dishes, 
teapots,  and  coffee-pots  warm  ;  in  the  bathroom  heats 
the  water  ;  in  the  smoking-room  replaces  matches ;  in 

345  ^ 


Romance  of  Modern  Invention 

the  bedroom  electrifies  footwarmers,  and — last  wonder 
of  all — even  makes  possible  an  artificially  warm  bed- 
quilt  to  heat  the  chilled  limbs  of  invalids  ! 

The  great  advantage  of  electric  heating  is  the  free- 
dom from  all  smell  and  smoke  that  accompanies  it. 
But  until  current  can  be  provided  at  cheaper  rates 
than  prevail  at  present,  its  employment  will  be  chiefly 
restricted  to  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  or  to  large 
establishments,  such  as  hotels,  where  it  can  be  used 
on  a  sufficient  scale  to  be  comparatively  economical. 


THE  END 


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Edinburgh  <&*  London 


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